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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

CARLI:  Consortium  of  Academic  and  Research  Libraries  in  Illinois 


http://archive.org/details/iroquoistheatrerOOiroq 


Arranged  and  Published  by 
THOMAS  J.  NOONAN. 


Historical  Pictures  from  Collection  of 
EDWARD  FREIBERGER. 


Plates  and  Engravings 
F.  G.  JUNGBLUT  &  CO. 


Press  of 
RAND,  McNALLY  &  CO. 


PAI 


Dedicatory 
per/8rmancc 
November,  23,  |L 

1505 |j /HftBMBEffKD 


9 


IROQUOIS  THEATRE.   RANDOLPH,   BETWEEN   STATE  AND  DEARBORN   STREETS,  CHICAGO.   ILL. 


Iroquois  Theatre 

RANDOLPH,  BETWEEN   STATE 
AND   DEARBORN   STREETS 

CHICAGO 


ERECTED   AND   OWNED   BY 

The  Iroquois  Theatre  Company 

directors  and  proprietors 

William  J.  Davis  Harry  J.  Powers 

A.  L.  Erlanger  J.  Fred  Zimmerman 

Sam'l  F.  Nixon  Marc  Klaw 

WILLIAM  J.  DAVIS,  HARRY  J.  POWERS,  Resident  Owners  and  Managers 

The  Business  and  Working  Staff  Includes 

THOMAS  J.  NOONAN,  Business  Manager  and  Treasurer 

Edward  J.  Dillon    |Bqx  q 
Will  J.  Davis,  Jr.    J 
Helen  H  a  g an  ,  Se c r  e t  a  r  y 
J.  E.  G.  Ryan,  Press  Representative 
Antonio  Frosolono,  Director  of  Mi 
G.  N.   Dusenberry,  Doorkeeper 
Ed.  J.  Cummings,  Master  Carpenter 
Walter  Hueston,  Electrh 
Robert  Murray,  Engineer 


IROQUOIS  THEATRE 

Randolph,  between  State  and  Dearborn  Sts.,  Chicago. 


Beginning    Monday,    November   23,    1903. 
E,very    Evening,    Including    Sunday. 
Wednesday  and  Saturday  Matinees. 


KLAW    <5    ERLANGER    present 

MR.  BLUE,  BEARD 

The  Great  Spectacular  Entertainment  from   Theatre  Royal, 
Drury     Lane,     London 

By     J.     HICKORY      WOOD     and    ARTHUR      COLLINS 

Adapted  for  the  American  Stage  by  JOHN    J.     McNALLY 

The  Lyrics,  unless  otherwise  indicated,  by  J.  Cheever  Goodwin. 

Music,  unless  otherwise  indicated,  by  Frederic  Solomon. 

Ballets  by  Ernest  D'Auban. 

Produced  under  Stage  Direction  of  Herbert  Gresham  and  Ned  Wayburn. 

Business  Direction  of  Jos.  Brooks.     Edwin  H.  Price,  Manager. 

SYNOPSIS    OF    SCENES.    MUSIC    AND     INCIDE.NTS 

ACT  I. 
Scene  1— The  Market  Place  on  the  Quay,  near  Bagdad.     (Bruce  Smith.) 

Mustapha  plots  to  separate  Selim  and  Fatima  and  sell  the  beautiful  Fatima  to  the 
monster  Blue  Beard.  Blue  Beard  arrives;  purchasess laves.  Sister  Anne  falls  in  love 
with  Blue  Beard  and  spurns  Irish  Patshaw.  Blue  Beard  seizes  Fatima  and  takes  her 
on  board  his  yacht. 

Opening  Chorus— 

a.  "Come,  Buy  Our  Luscious  Fruits." 

b.  "  Oriental  Slaves  Are  We." 

c.  "  We  Come  From  Dalmatia." 

d.  Algerian  Slave  Song  and  Chorus. 

aa.     Grand  Entrance  Blue  Beard's  Retinue.     Medley  Ensemble. 

bb.    Song — "A  Most  Unpopular  Potentate,"  Blue  Beard  and  Chorus, 
a.     "  Welcome  Fatima." 
Song— "I'm  As  Good  As  I  Ought  To  Be,"  Blanche  Adams. 
Finale— "Then  Away  We  Go." 

POWERS'   THEATRE    THIS    WEEK    W.    H.    CRANE    IN 

"THE  SPENDERS" 

ILLINOIS   THEATRE   THIS   WEEK   CHAS.   FROHMAN 
PRESENTS "ULYSSES" 


u, 


n 


Cafe 

THE    "ALTON"    OCCUPIES 
THE     SAME     RELATIVE 
POSITION    AMONG    RAIL- 
WAYS AS  THE  IROQUOIS 
HOLDS    AMONG     THE 
THEATRES    OF   AMERICA 

Buffet 

Library 

AND 

Observation 

CITY  TICKET   OFFICE 
lOl  ADAMS  ST.,  CHICAGO 

Cars 

Scene2-0n  Board  Blue  Beard's  Yacht.    (Bruce  Smith.) 
Fatima  with  Selirn  attempts  to  escape  from  Blue  Beard's  yacht,  but  is  prevented. 
Selim  jumps  overboard. 

Opening  Chorus— "There's  Nothing  Like  The  Life  We  Sailors  Lead." 
Duet— Miss  Rafter  and  Miss  Adams.  ■  /-.-,*•, 

•'Beautiful  World  It  Would  Be."     (Harry  Von  Tilzer.)     Harry  Gilfoil. 
"I'm  a  Poor  Unhappy  Maid."    I  md  Schwa  Foy. 

Finale—"  He's  Com-." 

Scene  3    The  tsle  ol   Perns.    (H.  Emden.) 

Fairy  Queen  appears  to  Selim,  pro  '  and  the  power  of  the  Magic 

Fan  to  reii nih    I is  loved  one  and  to  protect  im  evil. 

,     Land  of  Ferns,    ill.  Emdi 

Bal]  nd    waving  of    Mm-    Magic    Fan,  by  the  Fairies  and 

Grand 

ACT   II. 
Scene  1— The  Castle  Terrace  and  Gardens.     I  McCleery.  | 
Fatima  believes  Selim  .load  and  agrees  to  marry  Blue  Beard.     She  gets  the  kej 
the  Castle  from  Blue  Beard,  who  enjoins  her  not  to  open  the  Blue  Chamber. 

Opening  Chorus    "Daylight  is  Dawning."  ,„.„,.,,         •  i  ,.,  sva 

"Songbirds  of  Melody  Lane,"  Beatrice  Lidded,  Elsie  Romaine,  and  Chorus,    (Ed- 

^"''lv!'!'  ThatnMade   Milwaukee   Famous."     (Harry   Gilfoil.)     Bonnie  Maginn   and 
Pony  Ball*  I 

Sister  Anne  and  the  Pet  Elephant. 

[n  the  Pale  Moonlight."    (Jerome  and  Woodward.) 
"Ma  Honey."    (Hoffman.)    Bonnie  Maginn  and  Chorus. 

Scene  2     Chamber  of  Curiosities.     (McCleery.) 
Conquered  by  curiosity,  Fatima  opens  the  Blue  Chamber  and  discovers  Blue  Beard's 
awful  secret. 

blue  Beard's  wives  discovered. 

S<  one  3— Home  of  the  Old  Woman  Who  Lived  In  a  Shoe.     (E.  Albert.) 
The  disobedient  children. 
Song— "  Wake  Up  Mammy,"  Maude  Nugent.      ' 

Song— "Mother  Eve."    (Schwartz.)     Eddie  Foy,  Pony  Ballet,  and  Chorus. 

Scene  4— Hall  in  Blue  Beard's. Palace.     (E.  Albert.) 

Dancing-  Specialty  by  Frank  Young  and  Bessie  De  Voie.     Music  by  C.  Herbert  Kerr. 

Scene  5— Triumph  of  the  Magic  Fan.     (H.  Emden.) 

Tableau  1— The  Land  of  Palms.  Tableau  4-Japan. 

Tableau  2— Egypt  Tableau  5— Parisian  Rose  Garden. 

Tableau  3— India.  Tableau  6 -Spanish  Rose  Garden. 

Electric  Apotheosis. 

THE  GRIGOLATIS  TROUPE  OF  AERIALISTS 
Nellie  Reed,  Premiere,  and  Grand  Corps  de  Ballet. 


ACT  III. 
Scene  1— Hall  of  Pleasure  in  Blue  Beard's  Palace.     (E.  Albert.  | 

Scenes  of  revelry  in  Blue  Beard's  absence. 
Opening  Chorus-"  Let  Us  Be  Tolly  As  Long  As  WTe  (an'' 

"Spoony  Mooney  Night."     (Gus  Edwards. )     Bonnie  Maginn  and  Chorus. 

Pony  Ballet  Specialty.     Music  by  Jean  Schwartz. 

"Julie."     (Wm.  Jerome  and  Jean  Schwartz.)    Herbert  Cawthorne  and  Chorus. 

Blue  Beard  returns  unexpectedly.  _ 

Sister  Anne  gives  evidence  of  temporary  insanity.     Imagines  herself  Ophelia. 
Song- "Hamlet  Was  a   Melancholy    Dane,"    Eddie    Foy.      (Wm.   Jerome    and    John 

Blue  Beard  discovers  that  Fatima  has  disobeyed  him  and  threatens  her  and  her 
friends  with  death. 

.Scene  2— Below  the  Ramparts.     (HicKS  and  Brooks.) 

Blue  Beard  gives  Fatima  one  hour  in  which  to  accept  his  offer  of  marriage  or  per- 
ish with  her  friends.  Selim  summons  Fairies'  aid.  Attack  on  the  castle  by  the  Fairy 
Army.     Fatima  and  her  friends  in  peril. 

Scene  3— The  Fairy  Palace.     (Bruce  Smith.) 

Blue  Beard  is  overthrown  and  the  lovers  are  reunited. 

Entrance  and  triumph  of  the  Fairy  Army. 

Grand  Transformation  Scene. 


Trains  of  Quality 


€€ 


20th  Century  Limited  " 

CHICAGO-NEW    YORK 
IN  20  HOURS 

Leave  CHICAGO,  daily 12.30  p.m. 

Arrive  NEW  YORK,  daily 9.30  a.  m. 


"The  La%e  Shore  Limited 

CHICAGO-NEW  YORK,  24    HOURS 
CHICAGO-BOSTON    =    26^  HOURS 

Leave   CHICAGO,  daily 5  30  p.  m. 

Arrive  NEW  YORK,  daily 6.30  p.  m. 

Arrive  BOSTON,  daily.. ..9.03  p.  m. 


»» 


CITY    TICKET    OFFICE 
180    CLARK    STREET 

A.  J.  SMITH,  Gen'l  Pass'r  and  Tkt.  Agt.,  CLEVELAND,  OHIO 
C.  F.  DALY,  Chief  Assistant  Gen'l  Pass'r  Agt.,  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


CAST    OF     CHARACTERS 

MR.  BLUE  BEARD - HARRY  GILFOIL 

SISTER  ANNE..... EDDIE   FOY 

FATIMA MISS  BLANCHE  ADAMS 

SELIM         ADELE   RAFTER 

IMER  DASHER BONNIE   MAGINN 

ABDALLAII NORA  CECIL 

MUSTAPHA -. -         ROBERT  A.   EVANS 

IRISH  PATSHAW. HERBERT  CAWTHORNE 

1 1  ATRAC J.  SARONY   LAMBERT 

KORAFAI BESSIE    DE  VOIE 

ABADDIN SAM   REED 

ABUMUN FRANK   YOUNG 

MIRZA  MISS  DUPONT 

ZAIDEE      .  i  / MISS  WYNNE 


ZAIDEE \  f  ---  MISS    WAX. \L 

AMINA     I  \  .MISS   RICHARDS 

ZARA '  Blue  Beard's  Six     '  MISS  BEAUTE 

NADIE (  Pretty    Wives.      "  ....MISS    WILLIAMS 

BECA \  I  MISS  ROMAINE 

ZOLI J  i MISS  BRAND! 

LAIDOFF    \  (  BERTEWING 

DUNFOR I  \  .L.  A.  MASSETTE 

KNOUSE... \  Blue  Beard's  Six    '  C.  W.  NORTHRUP 

BADUN C  Ugly  Wives.       ",  JOHN    YAU> 

BACNUM I  i E.Z.MORA 

PASSAI '  '  CHAUNCEY  HOLLAND 

STELLA,  Queen  of  the  Fairies.... MISS  ANABELLE   WH1TFORD 

Elephant  and  Head  Tricks  by  Lambert  and  Gallagher. 

PONY      BALLET:     SKI-PIE    MCNEIL,     LOUIE     HAUMAN,     ADA     ROBERTSON, 

BEATRICE     LIDDELL,     ELIZABETH     HAUMAN,    EVA     MARLOWE, 

DOROTHY     MARLOWE,     CAROLINE     POLTZ. 


Costttmes  designed  by  Comelli,  London.  Made  by  Alias,  Auguste,  Simmons. 
Baruch,  D'Allessandri,  and  Harrison,  London,  Paris,  and  Berlin. 

Costumes  for  Specialties,  "  Ma  Honey,"  "  In  the  Pale  Moonlight,"  4k  The  Old  Woman 
Who  Lived  In  a  Shoe,"  and  the  Pony  Ballet,  designed  by  F.  Richard  Anderson  ;  made 
by  Klaw  &  Erlanger  Costume  Company, 

Shoes  by  Cammeyer.  Tights  by  the  Brooklyn  Knitting  Co.  Wigs  by  Clarkson 
London,  and  Hepner,  New  York.     Electrical  effects  by  H.  Bissing  &  Co. 


EXECUTIVE    STAFF 

Business  Manager Mr.  Samuel  Harrison 

Stage  Manager : Will  Carleton 

Assistant  Stage  Managers ...Wm.  Plunkett,  Carl  Kahn 

Musical  Director Herbert  Dillea 

Ballet  Mistress Mme.  Sarraco 

Mechanical  Department Max.  Mazzanovich,  J.  Andrew  and  Wm.  Owens 

Properties Wm.  Price 

Electr i cian Wm.  D unn 

Wardrobe  Mistress Mrs.  Quist 

Assistant  Wardrobe  Mistress Mrs.  Kelly 

Wardrobe  Man Bert  Ewmg 

Armorer Wm.  Shermna 


THE  THEATRE 

By  Charles  E.  Nixon 


THE  pioneer  days 
of  players  using 
the  vernacular 
were  anything  but 
"palmy."  These  poor 
wandering  Thespians 
were  opprobriously 
called  "vagabonds,"  and 
when  they  attempted  to 
give  performances  in  the 
larger  towns,  the  author- 
ities, under  pressure  of 
the  prevailing  sentiment, 
were  ever  trying  to  for- 
bid them.  As  a  result 
of  petty  persecution  and 
municipal  meddling,  a  great  change  eventually  came 
about,  bettering  both  the  drama  and  its  expositors, 
for  the  players  wisely  abandoned  strolling  and- pre- 
pared to  establish  themselves  permanently 

13 


MR.   B.  H.   MARSHALL 


Undesirable  tenants,  the  actors  were  forced,  as  a 
makeshift,  to  build  houses  of  their  own  beyond  the 
town  limits.  Fairly  familiar  with  the  classic  drama, 
they  had  neither  the  means  nor  the  motive  for 
reproducing"  the  imposing  slave-built  theatres  of 
antiquity,  seen  amid  the  ruins  of  Rome  and  Athens. 
As  the  strollers  had  been  accustomed  to  performing 
in  the  court-yards  of  humble  inns  or  feudal  castles,  a 
simple  enclosed  court  served  their  modest  architect- 
ural ambitions.  Their  most  popular  model  was 
square  eighty  feet  in  each  direction,  the  central  por- 
tion open  to  the  sky.  The  enclosure  was  a  quadrangle 
of  galleries  that  were  divided  into  "  rooms  "  for  the 
wealthy  and  aristocratic  class.  Currently  these 
"  rooms"  would  flank  the  stage  and  be  called  boxes; 
as  it  was  then  the  lords  and  ladies  occupied  the 
galleries  exclusively. 

The  ground  floor  was  so  in  reality,  for  it  was 
merely  a  yard  wherein  the  ordinary  spectators  had 
to  stand.  Projected  into  this  space  was  a  platform 
forty  feet  square  which  served  as  a  stage.  Along*  the 
base  of  the  rear,  gallery  spanning  this  stage  were 
hung  tapestries  to  shield  the  space  behind,  which 
might  be  used  as  a  dressing-room.  The  gallery  was 
for  the  use  of  actors  and  stage  service.  Its  elevation 
served  as  an  upper  room,  a  balcony,  a  beetling  cliff, 
or  the  drawbridge  of  some  besieged  castle  to  be 
valiantly  defended.  This  stage  was  considered  so 
spacious  that  spectators  could  hire  stools  and  sit  at 
the  right  or  left,  viewing  the  play  and  players  at 
close  range. 

This  severely  simple  platform,  minus  scenery  or 

14 


furnishing,  save  the 
arras  at  the  back  and 
its  quaking  balcony, 
had  of  necessity  to 
represent  all  the  se- 
quence of  places  that 
the  imaginative  play- 
wright could  demand. 
This  poverty  of  re- 
source may  have  pro- 

-,-,,.-,  j  DRESS  CIRCLE    PROMENADE 

voked  the  dramatist 

and  plagued  the  actors.  Yet  the  inadequacy  and 
provoking  plainness  appeared  to  be  acceptable  to  the 
majority  of  the  uncritical  spectators  in  the  golden 
Elizabethan  age.  This  condition  of  simplicity  was 
not,  however,  relished  by  all  the  patrons  of  the 
playhouse.  The  censorious  Sidney,  familiar  with 
better  conditions  on  the  stage  of  Italy,  protested 
against  the  stage  on  which  the  scene  would  seem 
to  change  continually,  simply  because  there  was  no 
scenery  to  be  changed.  Sidney  wrote  of  it  as  he  saw 
it:  "The  player,  when  he  comes  in,  must  either 
begin  with  telling  where  he  is,  or  else  the  tale  will 
not  be  conceived.  Now  shaM  you  have  three  ladies 
walk  to  gather  flowers,  and  then  we  must  believe  the 
stage  to  be  a  garden.  By  and  by  we  hear  the  news 
of  a  shipwreck  in  the  same  place  ;  then  we  are  to 
blame  if  we  accept  it  not  for  a  rock.  Upon  the  back 
of  that  comes  a  hideous  monster  with  fire  and 
smoke ;  and  the  miserable  beholders  are  bound  to 
take  it  for  a  cave ;  while  in  the  meantime  two 
armies   fly   in,    represented    with    four    swords   and 

15 


bucklers,  and  then  what  hard  heart  will  not  receive 
it  for  a  pitched  field." 

The  undertakings  advanced  by  the  heroism  of  the 
poor  persecuted  players  in  the  elder  day  of  the  Eng- 
lish drama,  the  practical  and  progressive  managers 
have   improved   and   perpetuated    and    the    modern 
architects  have  beautified.      During  the  past  decade 
theatrical  architecture  has  made  wonderful  advance 
in  this  country.    Inconsiderate  travelers  may  remark 
m  contrast  to  local  achievement,  the  Grand  Opera  of 
Paris,  the  Royal  Opera  of  Vienna,  or  the  wonderful 
stages   of    Bayreuth    or   Budapest,   overlooking   the 
pertinent   fact   that  such  structures  are  subvented 
institutions  under  governmental  jurisdiction  or  royal 
patronage,  while  all  the  opera  houses  and  theatres 
in  America  are  private  enterprises,  and,  generally 
speaking,    provide    better    entertainments    and    far 
better  accommodations  for  the  public  than  the  most 
pretentious  of  the  famous  foreign  opera  houses. 

The  American  public  now,  more  than  ever  before, 
demand  elegance  of  environment  for  their  amuse- 
ments, as  well  as  provisions  for  comfort  and  security  ; 
yet  the  opportunity  for  architectural  compliance  with 
these  exactions  is  restricted  by  reason  of  the  enormous 
land  values  in  the  heart  of  great  centers  of  civiliza- 
tion, the  most  advantageous  locations  for   theatres. 
The  latest  and  most  noticeable  achievements  in 
theatrical    construction,  not   reckoning   the    cost  to 
secure  the  finest  results,  are  significant  in   the  re- 
cherche New  Amsterdam  Theatre  in  New  York,  the 
finest  concrete   example  of  L'  Art  Nouveau  in  the 
world;  the  beautiful  Nixon  Theatre,  now  approaching 


1R.  WILL  J.  DAVIS 


completion  in  Pittsburg,  and  last  but  not  least,  the 
Iroquois  in  Chicago,  the  finest  and  most  complete 
of  its  many  modern  houses  devoted  to  the  drama. 

The  desirable  site  chosen  for  the  Iroquois  is 
close  to  that  associated  with  the  very  beginning  of 
things  theatrical  in  this  municipality  nearly  sixty 
years  ago.  It  is  located  within  "  The  Loop,"  is  more 
readily  accessible  from  traction  and  railwTay  lines 
than  any  other  Chicago  theatre,  and  has  a  frontage 
on  three  thoroughfares,  with  many  avenues  for  exit. 
The  practical  part  of  its  promotion  as  an  elegant 
edifice  as  well  as  a  perfect  theatre  show  the  result  of 
skill  added  to  good  judgment  in  unstinted  financial 
outlay,  with  a  determination  to  secure  the  best  as 
befitting  such  an  important  artistic  adventure.  Every 
penny  of  the  large  expenditure  represented  in  the 
Iroquois  was  made  in  the  theatrical  business.  Mr. 
Will  J.  Davis  and  Mr.  Harry  J.  Powers,  as  the  result 
of  ripe  experience,  understood  exactly  what  was 
needed.  The  judicious  character  of  their  invest- 
ment is  unquestionable  and  the  artistic  addition  to  the 
city  most  advantageous.  Associated  with  the  Chicago 
managers  are  Messrs.  Klaw  and  Erlanger  of  New 
York,  and  Messrs.  Nixon  and  Zimmerman  of  Phila- 
delphia, both  firms  being  large  producers  as  well. 

The  George  A.  Fuller  Company  is  second  to  none 
in  handling  building  enterprises  of  magnitude,  and 
in  carrying  them  to  completion  in  spite  of  all  ob- 
stacles that  the  uncertain  temper  of  the  times  may 
impose.  It  may  be  recalled  that  this  corporation 
carried  the  Illinois  Theatre  to  completion  under  con- 
ditions that  seemed  prohibitive,  and  has  been  equally 

is 


MR.  HARRY  J.  POWERS 


successful  in  completing  the  Iroquois  at  a  time  when 
other  builders  have  been  seriously  delayed  or  entirely 
abandoned  constructions,  discouraged  by  the  attitude 
of  labor  and  contract  conditions. 

Mr.  Benjamin  H.  Marshall,  the  architect,  has 
shown  admirable  capability  as  a  modern  theatre 
builder,  and  in  this  instance  has  again  given  Chicago 
its  most  beautiful  temple  of  the  drama.  The  Illinois 
Theatre  was  the  first  monumental  structure  of  the 
kind  in  Chicago,  and  the  Iroquois  is  a  surpassing 
second,  as  the  entire  building  is  devoted  to  theatrical 
purposes. 

The  Iroquois  presents  the  most  imposing  and 
attractive  facade  to  be  seen  in  this  city  of  modern 
structures,  and  will  impress  even  the  most  superficial 
observer  by  its  beauty  and  grandeur.  The  style, 
architecturally,  is  French  renaissance,  which  has  a 
strong  suggestion  of  the  classic.  This  mingling  of  the 
heroic  and  lighter  lines  is  artistically  adroit,  and  the 
result  very  satisfactory.  The  Randolph  Street  front 
is  of  Bedford  stone  deeply  recessed  (sixty  feet  wide 
and  eighty  feet  high),  the  admirable  proportion  and 
architectural  treatment  making  it  appear  larger  than 
it  really  is.  The  central  feature  is  a  deep  French 
coved  arch  thirty-five  feet  in  width  and  fifty-two 
feet  high,  flanked  on  either  side  by  stone  columns 
four  feet  in  diameter  and  thirty-eight  feet  high, 
weighing  thirty-six  tons  each.  Next  to  these  in  cor- 
rect architectural  spacing  is  an  engaged  pilaster 
four  feet  wide  that  returns  back  of  the  columns, 
acting  in  double  function.  The  front  view  gives  the 
impress  of  double  free  columns  on  either  side  of  the 


30 


arch,  adding  grace  and  strength  to  the  uplift  of  the 
edifice.  These  columns  and  pilasters  rest  upon  a 
mammoth  pedestal  of  St.  Cloud  granite  sixteen 
feet  square.  The  width  of  these  bases  will  serve  as 
bulletins  of  attractions,  for  which  a  space  five  feet 


square  is  recessed  and  framed  in  carved  leaves  of 
laurel,  the  top  center  being  a  rich  cartouche.  The 
columns  and  pilasters  are  surmounted  by  a  cornice 
nine  feet  high,  running  across  the  entire  front  from 
pilaster  to  pilaster,  breaking  back  to  the  face  of  the 


81 


MR.  SAMUEL  F. 
NIXON 


MR.  J.  FRED. 
ZIMMERMAN 


MANAGER'S  PRIVATE  OFFICE 


arch  at  the  top  of  either 
column.  These  returns 
are  sustained  by  elabo- 
rately carved  massive 
brackets  of  French 
pattern.  The  upward 
continuation  of  the  cor- 
nice forms  a  pediment 
or  gable,  the  apex  of 
which  is  seventy-five 
feet  above  the  pavement.  Above  its  crown  moulding- 
is  a  parapet.  Surmounting  the  center  as  a  terminal 
is  a  monolith  of  stone  twelve  feet  wide  and  fifteen 
feet  high.  The  massive  character  of  the  masonry 
will  be  appreciated  when  it  is  stated  that  this  upper 
wall  is  fourteen  feet  thick. 

The  ornamentation  of  the  pediment  is  emble- 
matic, showing  the  semi-recumbent  figure  of  a  woman 
heroic  in  size,  representing  Tragedy,  and  the  figure 
of  a  jester,  typifying  Comedy.  They  support  a  richly 
carved  cartouche  as  the  central  ornament. 

The  sculptors  of  this  large  group  are  Beil  and 
Mauch,  and  the  carver,  Joseph  Dux.  The  figures  are 
cut  out  of  the  solid  stone  projection,  the  relief  being 
3^2  feet  from  the  face  of  the  pediment.  The  size  of 
these  sculptures  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  the 
ornamental  head  forming  the  keystone  of  the  arch 
ten  feet  below  them  is  3^  x  4  feet. 

Springing  up  within  the  arched  entrance  are  a 
pair  of  stone  pilasters  thirty-four  feet  high,  support- 
ing a  cornice  spanning  the  arch  at  the  beginning 
of  the  curve.      The  upper  members  of  this  gable  are 

23 


cut  out  as  a  broken  pediment,  allowing-  space  for  the 
sculptured  bust  of  a  noble  Iroquois  that  Mr.  Davis 
selected  as  typical  from  his  large  library  Americana. 
Back  of  this  arch  is  an  elaborate  screen  of  orna- 
mental iron  work  (in  which  the  Winslow  Brothers 
have  fairly  outdone  the  Germans  in  their  handicraft). 
This  screen  is  set  with  heavy  plate  and  jewel  glass, 
giving  light  and  airiness  to  the  inner  lobby  and 
outer  front.  Five  pairs  of  wide  mahogany  doors 
with  glass  panels  give  entrance  to  a  vestibule  20x40 
feet,  with  an  eighteen-foot  ceiling  beamed  and  pan- 
eled with  marble.  This  is  elliptical  in  shape,  allow- 
ing room  for  ticket  and  other  offices  on  either  side, 
their  windows  being  an  attractive  feature  of  the 
otherwise  plain  solid  construction.  At  the  east  end 
ornamental  iron  stairs  lead  to  the  business  offices  of 
the  house  and  to  the  third  floor  above,  the  manager's 
private  office.  A  second  series  of  swinging  doors 
admit  to  a  foyer  truly  palatial  (sixty  feet  wide  and 
eighty  feet  long),  with  a  colonnade  of  pavonazzo 
pillars  carrying  the  ceiling  upon  groined  arches  sixty 
feet  above  the  tessellated  floor.  It  is  by  far  the  most 
majestic  interior  in  this  city  or  in  this  country, 
rivaling  many  vistas  to  be  seen  in  the  Congressional 
Library  in  Washington.  In  the  dignity  of  its  dec- 
orative disposition  it  suggests  some  kinship  with  the 
latter  noble  structure;  but  its  lines  are  lighter,  its 
treatment  not  so  severely  studied,  while  its  originality 
is  worthy  of  the  highest  praise. 

A  point  worthy  of  remark  is  that  the  foyer  of  this 
house  is  not  only  in  itself  wonderfully  impressive 
and  attractive,  but  its  relation  to  the  auditorium  is 

24 


VIEW  OF  FOYER  FROM   DRESS  CIRCLE 


singularly  harmo- 
nious and  effective. 
All  parts  of  the  house 
are  open  from  this 
noble,  lofty  room  of 
entrance,  and  in  turn 
it  is  intimately  close 
to  the  great  audience 
room  —  the  architect 
has  turned  the  trick 
of  the  angle  to  per- 
fection. To  see  and 
be  seen  is  the  duality 
of  advantage  presented  for  the  patrons  of  the 
Iroquois. 

The  colonnade  of  tinted  marble  pillars  on  white 
marble  bases  sentinel  the  sides  of  the  foyer,  and 
mark  the  landings  along  the  graceful  lines  of  the 
grand  staircases  rising  along  the  wall  of  the  outer 
courts.  These  broad,  easy  ascents  have  five  landings 
opening  upon  balconies  that  project  between  the 
columns,  the  ornamental  iron  filagree  supporting 
graceful  candelabra  used  as  electroliers.  The  wall 
dado,  as  well  as  the  wall  itself,  is  of  white  marble, 
while  high  up  along  the  line  of  the  second  story  is  a 
succession  of  arched  French  windows  ornate  with 
graceful  little  balconies.  The  draping  of  these  win- 
dows show  rich  oriental  colors,  and  their  frames  are 
set  with  plate  mirrors  which  add  to  the  brilliancy  of 
the  decorative  detail  and  magnify  the  spaciousness 
of  the  interior.  Pendant  from  the  bosses  of  the 
groined  arches  are  Etruscan  crystal  bowl  lamps,  giv- 

25 


ing  soft  light  to  the  stairs  and  the  plastic  beauties  of 
the  ceiling.  Deeply  tufted  settees,  upholstered  in  fine 
fabrics,  are  in  every  embrasure  along  the  walls  of  the 
foyer  and  highway  of  the  stairs,  giving  a  fine  color 
note  to  the  marble  walls,  the  delicate  veining  of  the 
pavonazzo  pillars,  and  the  decorations  of  the  coves 
and  arches.  The  line  of  these  staircases  leading  to 
the  dress  circle  and  balcony  is  fascinating  in  its 
formation,  framing  the  pillars  of  the  inner  court, 
whose  capitols  sustain  an  elaborate  cornice  and  a 
number  of  heavily  recessed  arches  along  the  balcony 
promenade.  In  turn  these  lead  to  ornate  beaming 
around  a  skylight,  20x40  feet,  of  delicately  tinted 
glass  in  cloud  forms,  studded  with  jewels,  giving  the 
effect  (from  concealed  lights)  of  stars  in  the  changing 
clouded  sky. 

The  ladies'  parlors  and  check  rooms  are  at  the 
center  of  the  foyer  to  the  left,  and  opposite  are  sim- 
ilar conveniences  for  gentlemen.  These  rooms  sink 
under  the  broad  staircases  clear  of  the  foyer.  Below 
stairs  on  the  right  is  a  gentlemen's  smoking  room 
fitted  up  with  special  reference  to  its  use.  The  whole 
effect  of  this  foyer  is  delightful  in  detail  and  striking 
in  its  dazzling  ensemble. 

There  are  a  number  of  interesting  innovations  in 
the  construction  of  this  building  that  will  never  be 
seen  by  the  public.  There  are  no  obstructing  pillars 
in  the  body  of  the  house  to  interfere  with  the  fine  lines 
of  sight.  The  dress  circle  and  balcony  are  carried  upon 
cantilevers  that  upon  an  eight-foot  anchorage  carry 
an  overhand  of  twenty-six  feet,  the  enormous  roof 
trusses  on  the  rear  wall  holding  down  the  cantilevers. 

36 


VESTIBULE 


Glass-paneled 
doors,  swinging  be- 
tween the  arches  on 
the  north  of  the  foyer, 
lead  to  the  parquette; 
a  similar  entrance  for 
the  dress  circle  is 
directly  above,  and 
that  for  the  balcony 
on  the  third  floor,  all 
parts  of  the  house 
being"  accessible  from  the  grand  foyer, 
exits,  they  are  far  more  numerous,  the  entire  north 
frontage  being  available  for  such  service  in  case 
of  emergency.  Another  large  emergency  exit  leads 
across  the  stage  to  Dearborn  Street  from  the  passage- 
way and  doors  behind  the  boxes  on  the  south  side  of 
the  auditorium  proper.  The  directness  of  entrance 
and  the  availability  of  exits  are  a  praiseworthy  fea- 
ture of  this  admirably  planned  house  of  amusement. 
The  great  audience  room  is  attractive  in  its 
arrangement,  spaciousness,  and  decoration.  It  is 
wide,  compared  with  its  depth  (ninety  feet  wide  by 
seventy-one  feet  in  depth),  this  shell  shape  giving 
direct  lines  of  sight  and  aiding  the  excellence  of 
acoustics,  so  that  the  stage  entertainment  can  be 
thoroughly  enjoyed  by  every  spectator. 

The  aisles  are  wide  and  the  distance  between  the 
rows  of  chairs  is  two  inches  more  than  ordinary. 
The  latest  and  best  systems  of  heating  and  venti- 
lation have  been  installed,  so  that  the  pure-air  prob- 
lem has  been  successfully  solved.     A  series  of  col- 

37 


umns  seven  feet  from  the  rear  wall  of  the  lower  floor 
follow  the  curve  of  the  rear  row  of  seats  supporting 
the  unseen  cantilevers,  adding-  grace  to  the  structure 
by  carrying  a  scries  of  attractive  electroliers.  The 
dress  circle  sweeps  in  a  flat  curve  so  high  above  the 
parquette  that  the  top  of  the  proscenium  arch  can 
be  seen  from  every  seat. 

There  are  744  seats  in  the  parquette,  not  counting 
the  box  seats,  numbering  24,  one  of  the  largest  lower 
floor  capacities  in  the  city.  The  dress  circle  has  465 
seats,  with  two  upper  boxes  accommodating  16  ;  and 
the  balcony  has  seatings  for  475,  making  a  total  of 
1,724  chairs,  with  plenty  of  good  standing  room  on 
each  floor. 

The  ceiling-  under  the  dress  circle  is  effectively 
treated  in  a  decorative  way  with  elliptical  panels, 
delicately  defined,  giving  the  effect  of  a  Titanic  fan 
spread  open.  The  paneling  of  the  walls  is  in  French 
style  and  the  color  scheme  of  the  house  is  American 
Beatity  red,  opulent  in  association  with  neutral  tints 
of  green  and  gold  used  on  the  plastic  details.  Around 
the  house  on  all  floors  is  a  wainscot  six  feet  high,  of 
curly  Hungarian  ash. 

Over  the  proscenium  is  a  sounding  board  twenty 
feet  wide,  its  Rococo  paneling  giving*  the  key  to  all 
the  ornamentation  about  the  frame  of  the  stage, 
involving  the  order  of  its  proscenium  boxes.  The 
line  of  the  elliptical  proscenium  arch  is  ornate  with 
wreath  of  laurel  leaves;  the  opening  is  forty-one  feet 
wide  and  thirty-six  feet  high.  The  orchestra  pit 
is  spacious,  with  ample  room  for  forty  instrumental- 
ists.     The   projection   in   front  of   the  footlights  is 

39 


convexed  and  decorated  in  conformity  with  the  pre- 
vailing- style  of  the  house. 

In  the  rear  of  the  boxes  there  is  ample  space, 
which  will  allow  plenty  of  room  for  comfortably  dis- 
posing of  wraps,  bonnets,  hats,  and  such  other  wear- 
ing apparel  as  patrons  may  desire  to  discard  before 
entering  the  boxes. 

The  plan  of  the  decorations  in  the  Iroquois  is  one 
full  of  variety  in  design  and  color  and  more  sumptu- 
ous than  anything  hitherto  attempted  in  a  Chicago 
theatre. 

The  walls  of  the  vestibule  are  of  white  marble, 
with  a  subtle  treatment  of  antique  gold  in  the  ceil- 
ing, leaving  the  total  effect  very  rich  yet  quiet. 

As  you  enter  the  foyer,  the  effect  is  in  rich  con- 
trast to  the  vestibule.  The  walls  are  of  white  mar- 
ble, with  pavonazzo  columns.  Around  the  mirror 
panels  on  both  sides  of  the  flanking  stairways  is  a 
welcome  velvety  red.  The  draperies  and  furnishings 
in  a  deeper  tone  of  this  same  color  are  important 
notes  of  the"  decorative  scheme. 

The  foyer  ceilings  and  domes  in  the  richest  col- 
ors of  green  and  rose  tints  of  the  French  Renaissance 
style,  liberally  elaborated  with  gold,  add  brilliancy 
and  crispness  to  the  general  tone  of  this  beautiful 
harmony. 

The  color  scheme  of  the  auditorium  is  as  beautiful 
as  it  is  appropriate.  The  colors  are  quiet  and  neu- 
tral greens  on  the  ceilings  and  a  rich  red  on  walls 
and  with  gold  in  the  boxes  and  draperies. 

The  colors  of  the  proscenium  arch  and  entabla- 
tures  of   boxes   arje    soft   green    and    silver    gray. 

30 


.wf"* 


LADIES'    BOUDOIR 


All  constructional 
parts  have  the  color 
of  French  statuary 
bronze  and  verdigris, 
elaborated  with  ivory 
tones. 

The  auditorium 
ceiling  is  a  well- 
blended  sky  effect  done  in  soft  greens,  cerulean 
blues,  and  mauves,  with  clouds  in  grays  and  pearl 
tints. 

All  the  coves  are  finished  in  Sienna. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  facings  of  the  boxes, 
dress  circle,,  and  balcony  are  in  keeping  with  the 
colorings  in  the  great  sounding  board  over  the  pros- 
cenium arch. 

This  color  scheme,  with  the  deep  rich  red  of  the 
walls  back  of  the  seats  in  tone  with  the  warm  tones 
of  the  pavonazzo  marble,  combine  to  make  this  inte- 
rior a  triumph  of  elegance  in  decoration. 

The  designing  and  decorating  of  the  Iroquois 
Theatre  throughout  is  the  work  of  the  W.  P.  Nelson 
Company,  an  old-established  Chicago  firm,  who  also 
did  Powers'  Theatre,  this  city,  the  New  Amsterdam 
Theatre  of  New  York  City,  which  has  attracted 
much  attention  on  account  of  its  striking  originality 
of  design  and  coloring,  and  the  new  Nixon  Theatre 
in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  now  nearing  completion. 

Mr.  St.  John  Lewis  has  provided  two  exquisitely 
painted  curtains,  unique  in  their  significance.  The 
asbestos,  or  fireproof  curtain,  shows  a  summer  scene 
on  the  Mohawk  River,  made  from  a  sketch  by  the 

31 


artist  himself,  from  which,  however,  he  has  eliminated 
every  semblance  of  modern  civilization,  with  the 
view  of  illustrating  the  historic  valley  as  it  might 
have  appeared  150  years  ago,  when  its  banks  were 
peopled  with  the  Iroquois  Indians  only.  The  picture 
is  in  the  artist's  best  style,  and  was  suggested  by  the 
following  verse  by  Mrs.  Lydia  H.  Sigoumey  : 

' '  Ye  say  their  cone-like  cabins 

That  clustered  o'er  the  vale 
Have  disappeared  as  withered  leaves 

Before  the  autumn  gale  ; 
But  their  memory  liveth  on  your  hills, 

Their  baptism  on  your  shore  ; 
Your  ever-rolling  rivers  speak 

Their  dialect  of  yore." 

The  act  drop  is  a  study  rich  and  mellow  in  autum- 
nal tints.  It  is  a  landscape  also,  and  treated  in  Mr. 
Lewis'  best  style,  intended  to  illustrate  the  following 
lines  by  Greer : 

"  October,  tinting  the  summer  skies, 
Had  ranged  on  a  scaffold  of  mist 
His  gold,  and  crimson,  and  purple  dyes, 
And  russet  and  amethyst." 

The  plush  curtain,  which  is  of  rich  velvet  of  a 
beautiful  red  to  harmonize  with  the  color  of  the 
auditorium,  is  ornamented  with  a  portrait  of  Sagoya- 
wata,  or  Red  Jacket,  a  chief  of  the  Senecas,  and  later 
the  most  celebrated  chief  in  all  the  tribes  in  that  con- 
federacy of  Indians  known  as  the  Six  Nations,  or 
Iroquois,  after  which  the  theatre  is  named.  This 
curtain  was  made  and  ornamented  by  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.,  who  also  furnish  the  draperies. 

The  stage  of  the  Iroquois  Theatre  is  spacious, 
modern,  and   perfgctly  appointed,  with   a   depth   of 


fifty-three  feet  and  a  width  of  i  10  feet.  The  rigging- 
loft  is  seventy-six  feet  from  the  stage  floor  and  is 
believed  to  be  the  best  constructed  ever  placed  in  a 
theatre.      The  full  widt!  he  stage  corresponding 

with  the  proscenium  opening  is  entirely  clear  under- 
ath,  and  of  sufficient  depth  to  give  working  space 
for    the    most    elaborate    and    pretentions    of    stage 
productions  of  every  description.     There  are  two  fly 


PROSCENIUM   AND    BOXES 


galleries*  on  either  side  of  the  stage,  all  of  steel  con- 
struction, and  a  steel  paint  bridge  on  the  rear  wall 
unites  these  upper  galleries. 

There  are  thirty-six  dressing  rooms,  all  large  and 
comfortably  furnished,  and  most  of  these  above  and 
on  the  south  side  of  the  stage.  They  are  readily 
reached  by  broad,  easy  stairs,  and,  wonder  of  wonders, 
have  an  elevator  that  works  at  every  performance 
instead  of  merely  lifting  baggage  at  the  beginning 
and  conclusion  of  an  engagement.     The  supernum- 


33 


eraries  have  large  rooms  in  a  separate  part  of  the 
basement.  Adequate  accommodation  for  the  per- 
formers is  unusual,  but  Mr.  Davis,  who  inaugurated 
drastic  reform  in  dressing-rooms  in  the  building  of 
the  Haymarket,  has  elaborated  on  his  original  ideas 
for  comfort  in  the  Iroquois. 


34 


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From  Sauganash  to  Iroquois 

"During   the    long  contest        I        a  "    powers 

(England  and  for  supremacy  upon  the  continent,  the  Iroquois 

were  generally  found  in  the  English  interesl  andthe  other  tribes  o 

French. 

History  furnishes  few  examples  of  more  alor,  more  dar- 

ing enterprise,  or  more  patriot;  tion  than  are  found  in  these  wars 

first  waged  by  the  Iroquois  for  that  revenge  which  arded  as 

justice."    Extract  from  "The  History  of  the  Indian   Tribes  of  North 
America:'  by  Thomas  L.  McKenney  and  James  J/all,  1844. 

Two-thirds  of  a  Century  in  the 
Theatrical  History  of  Chicago 

By  Edward  Freiberger 


HE  drama  in  Chicago  has  been  a  marvelous 
transformation  scene,  the  like  of  which  the 
world  has  never  known.  Begun  in  humble- 
ness and  simplicity,  its  many  pictures  have 
been  unfolded  from  year  to  year,  the  changes 
being  many,  the  variations  notable,  and  the 
climax  stupendous.  Imagine,  if  you  will,  the  little  village  of 
Chicago  on  August  13,  1833.  An  election  for  village  trustees 
was  held  and  only  twenty-eight  votes  were  cast.  This  was 
barely  seventy  years  ago.  A  month  later  the  actual  prologue 
to  the  drama  in  Chicago  became  visible,  the  curtain  being- 
raised  when  the  treaty  with  the  Indians  was  signed.  Very  few 
of  the  Indians  —  principally  Pottawatomies  —  remained  in  the 
vicinity.  A  few  staid  at  Morris,  Illinois.  Occasionally  a  few 
would  wander  in  to  town  from  Mackinaw,  Elk  Rapids,  and 
Traverse  Bay,  Michigan,  but  they  were  all  peaceful.  There 
were  no  places  of  amusement  in  the  village,  and  the  entertain- 
ment provided  by  the  inhabitants  was  most  primitive.  Charles 
Cleaver,  who  came  here  in  the  autumn  of  1S33,  wrote:  "In 
the  winter  of  1S33-34.  amusements  of  any  kind  were  few  and 
far  between.  One  fine  moonlight  night,  when  the  ice  was 
good,  the  whole  of  Chicago  turned  out  for  a  skate  and  a  frolic, 
and  we  had  it.     There   must  have   been   at  least  a  hundred 

37 


sons   on    the    river  between    Wells  Street  and  the 

Just  imagine,  one  hundred  persons  the  "whole  of  Chicago  !" 
Remember,  please,  that  the  village  was  not  inviting  to  settlers. 
As  recently  as  1823,  twenty  years  after  the  first  house  was 
built  by  John  Kinzie,  Major  Long  and  party  had  visited  Chi- 
cago on  their  way  to  the  St.  Peter's  River,  and  in  the  narra- 
tive of  the  expedition,  Mr.  Keating,  the  writer,  says:  "  We 
were  much  disappointed  in  Chicago  and  its  vicinity.  The 
village  presents  no  cheering  prospects,  as  notwithstanding  its 
antiquity,  it  consists  of  but  few  huts,  inhabited  by  a  miserable 
race  of  men,  scarcely  equal  to  the  Indians  from  whom  they  are 
descended.  Their  log  houses  are  low.  filthy,  and  disgusting, 
displaying  not  the  least  comfort.  As  a  place  of  business  it 
offers  no  inducement  to  the  settler;  for  the  whole  amount  of 
trade  on  the  lake  did  not  exceed  the  cargo  of  five  or  six 
schooners,  even  when  the  garrison  received  its  supplies  from 
Mackinaw." 

Still  the  village. progressed,  and  m  the  year  1833,  during 
which  there  were  but  four  arrivals  of  lake  craft;  it  organized 
a  debating-society  with  Gen.  Jean  Baptiste  Beaubien  as  presi- 
dent, and  soon  thereafter  came  the  first  public  entertainment 
to  which  an  admission  fee  was  charged.  The  Chicago  Demo- 
crat'-'of  Tuesday,  February  iS,  1S34,  printed  the  following 
advertisement,  the  first  ever  published  in  Chicago  in  the  inter- 
ests of  amusements : 

Exhibition 

Joy  hath  its  timits.  We  but  borrow 
One  hour  of  mirth  from  mouths  of  sorrow. 

The  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  of  Chicago  are  most  respectfully  informed 
that  Mr.  Bowers,  Professor  de  tours  Amusant,  has  arrived  in  town,  and 
will  give  an  Exhibition  at  the  home  of  Mr.  D.  Graves,  on  Monday  even- 
ing next. 

Part  First 

Mr.  Bowers  will  fully  personate  Monsieur   Ctnuibert.  the  celebrati 
Fire  King,  who  so  much  astonished  the  people  of  Europe,  and  go  thro' 
his   wonderful   Chemical    Performance.     He   will   draw   a    red    hoi 

s  his  tongue,  hands,  etc.,  and  will  partake  of  a  comfortable  warm 
supper  by  eating  fire  balls,  burning  sealing  wax,  live  coals  of  fire,  me 

He  will  dip  his  lingers  in  melted  lead,  and   make  use  of  a  red  hot 
■  convey  the  saijje  to  his  mouth. 

38 


Part  Second 

Mr.  Bowers  will  ntriloqui  ■■■ 

vdemain,  many  of  whi<  :  d  too  numerou 

.Vim nts,  child.1 1  i 

light.      Seals    will    be 
ntion  pa.  fori  and 

the  bar. 

The  home  of  Mr.  D.  Graves,  referred  to,  was  the  .Mansion 
House,  at  Xn.  88  Lake  Street,  owned  by  Dexter  Graves. 

Enter  the  pioneer  of  local  dramatic  critics.  The  first  criti- 
cism of  a  public  performance  of  any  kind  ever  published  in  a 
Chicago  newspaper  was  the  following  editorial  paragraph  in 
the  Democrat  of  Wednesday,  June  i  i ,  i 

"We  were  truly  delight'  .evening   with  the  performance 

Mr.  Kenworthy.     H  rtainly  an  accompl  ntriloquist,  and  is 

entitled  to  the  support  of  those  who  feel  interested  in  a  display  of  natli 

In  his  •Brombach  family,'  he  represents  seven  perfectly  distinct 
characters,  and  carries  them  all  through  to  admiration.     He  performs 
;      other  very  interesting  feats.     It   will  be  seen  by  reference  ti 
e   in  another  column,   that   he   may   be   found   for   the  last  tim 
Brombach    Hall'    this  evening.     This  opportunity  will   not    be   lost   by 
ive  an  interest  in  exhibitions  of  the  kind." 

Remember  that  this  was  only  a  few  months  after  the  Potta- 
watomies  had  given  up  their  lands  to  the  white  man.    Chicago 
was  beginning  to  make  history.     On  June  19.  1834,  C.  Blisse 
gave  a  concert,  and  then  came  the  usual  small,  very  small, 
circus  with  the  still  smaller  side  show.     In  the  spring  of  1 
when  flour  was  selling  for  $2.8  a  barrel,  Uncle  Sam  gave  Chi- 
cago a  postoffice.     And  then,  on  June  iS,  1S35,  came  "  a  nov- 
elty in  Chicago."    This  was  the  first  fair,  held  by  "the  ladies 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  this  town."     The  town 
was  growing,  and-  it  required  only  "five   days   by  daylight 
to  go  by  coach  to  St.   Louis."     The   population   had   grown 
on  December  9,  1S35, to  3,279.    The  town  had  forty-four  stores, 
four  druggists,  two  breweries,  one  iron  foundry,  eight  taverns, 
one   lottery   office,    one   bank,    five   churches,    seven    schools, 
twenty-two  lawyers,  fourteen  doctors,  a  lyceum,  and  a  reading- 
room.     But    actors,    dramatic   critics,   and  press  agents   were 
conspicuous  by  their  absence.     Amusements  were  at  a  stand- 
still until  the  Chicago  Harmonic  Society  gave  its  first  concert 
at   the    Presbyterian   Church,  Friday  evening.  December    ti. 

39 


George  A.  Fuller 
Company 

'Builders 


Chicago  New  York 

Boston 
Philadelphia 
Pittsburg 
Baltimore 
Washington 

Albany  St.  Louis 


at  6.30  o'clock,  and  another  Friday,  January  29,  1836,  to 
celebrate  the  opening  of  a  new  line  of  mail  coaches  between 
Chicago  and  Detroit,  which  event  took  place  January  11,  1836. 
There  must  have  been  lovers  of  Shakespeare  in  the  vicinity, 
for  February  10,  1836,  the  Chicago  Democrat,  which  was  pub- 
lished every  Wednesday,  announced  that  two  towns  had  bi 
laid  out  eight  miles  from  each  other  not  far  from  Lake  Mich- 
igan, and  about  thirty  miles  from  Chicago,  and  that  they  were 
called  respectively  Romeo  and  Juliet.     The  name  of  the  latter 
has  since  been  changed  to  Jolict.     As  anyone  who  performed 
professionally  in  those  days  was  called  an  actor,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  "  first  exhibition  of  professional  actors"  in  this 
vicinity   was   a   circus,    and   called   "The  Grand   Equestrian 
Arena."     This  was  in  September  or  October  of  1836,  the  single- 
tent  being  located  on  a  lot  at  Nos.   172,   J 74,  and  176  Lake 
Street.    One  of  the  attractions  was  a  rider  by  the  name  of  F:aton 
Stone,  who  was  featured  by  the  management  as  "the  greatest 
living  equestrian."     Stone  had  previously  been  a  tailor  boy  in 
Rensselaer   County,  New   York,  and  was  described  as  being 
no  bigger  than  "  a  pint  of  cider."    A  weird  sort  of  amusement 
in  those  days  consisted  of  watching  the  Indians  receive  their 
money  from  Uncle  Sam.     This  happened  every  year,  but  only 
two  of  these  payments  took  place  after   1S35.     The  scene   of 
this  unique  entertainment  was  laid  on  the  prairie  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Chicago  River.     The  Indians  gathered  from  the  sur- 
rounding country,  and  every  one  of  them  received  the  munifi- 
cent sum  of  $16,  which  was  usually  paid  out  in  thirty-two  silver 
half  dollars.     Every  Indian,  squaw,  and  papoose  received  that 
amount,  and  the  cunning  of  the  Indian  asserted  itself  in  this, 
that  he  was  always  able  to  induce  Uncle  Sam  to  pay  him  $16  in 
trust  for  an  unborn  child. 

On  March  4,  1S37,  Chicago  was  incorporated  as  a  city," and 
it  may  be  said  in  truth  that  the  drama  in  Chicago  is  practically 
as  old  as  the  city  itself,  for  on  May  29,  1S37,  Dean  &  McKinney 
applied  to  the  Common  Council  for  a  license  to  "  open  a  theatre 
in  some  suitable  building  for  the  term  of  one  or  more  months 
as  the  business  may  answer."     The  two  pioneers  petitioned 

41 


Across  Three 
Mountain  l^ctnges 


EN  ROUTE  TO  TEXAS 
THE 


TRAVERSES 


The  Ozarks,  The  Kiamichi 
and  the  Boston  Mountains 


MAGNIFICENT  SCENERY,  WHICH  CAN 
BE  COMPLETELY  INSPECTED  FROM 
THE  LIBRARY-OBSERVATION  SLEEPERS 
OPERATED  BETWEEN  ST.  LOUIS  AND 
SAN   ANTONIO    aaa^^aaaaa 


Write  for  Copy  of  Illustrated  Book  entitled 

"THE    ERISCO    MAGAZINE" 


F.  C.  REILLY  A.  HILTON 

General  Agent  General  Passenger  Agent 

332  Marquette  Bldf ,  Chicago  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


,       authorities  to   make  the  license  payable  weekly,  but 
request  was  denied,  the  Council  naming  $100  .mount. 

Evidently  this  was  too  much  for  them  to  pay,  for  they  left  the 
city  without  giving  a  performance.  Mr.  Edwin  Dean  was  the 
fatln  famous  actress,  Miss  Julia  Dean.     Mr.  McKin 

had  been  a   popular  actor  at  the  Bowery  'I 
in  1S35.      He  afterward  beeam<    I  '  manager  o 

gtn  X('w  York. 

Xow  I,  the  overture  to  the  first  performance  of  a  play 

111  Chicago.     The   first   petition  that  met  with  the  favor  of  the 
city  was  the  followin; 

-t  .. 

he    Mayoi  iincil    of   I  : 

s  in  said  city.     They  respectfully  repn 
1,.  11  is  intended  to  afford  instruction  as  well  as  amusen 

encouraged  and   |  ed  by  the  leading  portion  oi 

lis  of  the  city,  who  arc-  int<  "i  their  success;  that 

main  here  during  the  winter,  and  that  they  make  no  caleula- 
ore  money  in  the  city  than  what  they  will  expend  during 
stay,  and,  therefore,  they  trust  th; 

lads  may   be  taken    into  consideration.     Isherwood   &   McKet 
the  petitioners,  request  this  li(  six  months,  it'  agreeable  t< 

ird." 

The   Council  fixed  the  license  at  $125    for  the   year,  and. 
while   the   petitioners   protested    that   it  was  too   much,   they 

paid  it."x" 

As  the  last  two  theatres  to  be  opened  in  Chicago  proudly 
bear  Indian  names  —  Illinois  and  Iroquois  — so  the  first  home 
of  the  drama  in  this  city  likewise  bore  an  Indian  name,  that  of 
Sauganash.  The  first  play  presented  in  Chicago  was  given  in 
the  dining-room  of  the  deserted  Sauganash  Hotel,  which  stood 
on  a  bit  of  ground  that  is  now  doubly  historical,  for  on  the  same 
spot  there  was  erected,  in  1S60,  the  famous  "  Wigwam,"  which 
was  burned  in  the  great  fire  of  October  9.  1S71,  and  in  which 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  first  nominated  for  the  presidency,  on 
Mav  is,  [860.     One  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  early  settlers 


*  A  statement  has  been  published  in  New  York  that  the  first  dramatic 

performance  ever  given  in  Chicago  took  place  on  September  10,  [837,  Mrs. 

■r  Jefferson  Mackenzie  appearing  as  Helen,  in  "The  Hunchback." 

As  managers  were  not  allowed  to  play  without    licenses,  and    as   none 

I  until  October  17,  1837,  the  statement  is  certainly  incorrect. 

4.; 


WP.NELfON  COMPANY 
DECORATORS  & 

DESIGNERS 
OF  BEAUTIFUL 
INTERIORS 


*HE  decora- 
tion in  the 
IROQUOIS 


is  an  example  of 
our  Work;  also 
that  of  POWERS' 
THEATRE  in  Chicago,  the  NEW  YORK 
THEATRE  and  tha  NEW  AMSTERDAM 
of  JVeW  Yor%  City  M  The  latter,  just 
recently  opened  to  the  public,  has  attracted 
much  attention  on  account  of  its  striking 
originality  of  design  and  coloring  M  M  The 
interior  of  the  NEW  NIXON  THEATRE 
of  Pittsburg,  now  under  construction,  Will 
shortly  be  completed  by  us  JS  Correspon- 
dence solicited  With  architects  and  owners 
about  decorations  of  all  descriptions  JR  JS 

NEW    YORK    and    CHICAGO 


Murk  Beaubien,  a  brother  of  General  Beaubien,  who  erected 

a  Log  house  on  the-  east  side  of  Market  Street,  about  100  i 
south  of  Lake  Street,  converted   it  into  a  tavern,  and  called 
it  the  Sauganash.     Beaubien,  who  was  born  in  [8oo,  was  i 
of  the  popular  heroes  of  the  town,  for  when  there  were  no  other 
amusements,   he    would   entertain   the   people  —  residents   and 
visitors— with  his  fiddling,  and  for  years  and  years  no  reunion 
of  old  settlers  was  complete  without  "  Mark  Beaubien  and  his 
for  the  two  were  inseparable.       Beaubien  laid  aside  his 
fiddle  at  Kankakee,  Illinois,  April  u.  c88i,  and  is  now  listening 
to  better  music.      The  tavern  was  named  after  a  half-breed 
Indian  chief,  Sauganash ,  meaning  ' '  English. "     His  right  name 
was  Billy  Caldwell,  and  he  was  born  in  Canada  about  the  year 
[78O.     His  father  is  said  to  have  been  an  Irish  officer  in  the 
British  Army,  and  his  mother  a  Pottawatomie  squaw.      He 
came  to  Chicago  about  the  year  1S20,  and  soon  became  one  of 
the  most  conspicuous  and  popular  figures  in  the  community. 
He  died  at  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  September  28,  1841.*     The 
Sauganash  was  a  two-story  wooden  structure  20  by  40  feet  in 
dimensions,  with  a  wing  of  the  same  height  at  the  rear  and 
another  of  one  story  at  the  right,  the  latter  being  a  log  cabin 
with  two  windows  and  a  door.     It  looked  very  much  like  an 
ordinary  log  house  of  the  Colonial  period,  with  two  windows  on 
either  .side  of  the  center  door,  and  five  windows  marking  the 
front  of  the  second  story,  the  roof  being  shaped  like  an  inverted 
V.     During  September,  1837,  John  Murphy,  then  the  proprietor 
of  the  Sauganash,  vacated   it  and  moved  into  a  new  house 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Chicago  River,  that  marvelous  stream 
whose  once  clear  waters  are  now  tainted  by  commerce,  and  its 
current  reversed  so  that  instead  of  running  into  Lake  Michigan 
the  latter  now  partially  cleanses  it  and  helps  it  reach  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico. 

Messrs.  Isherwood  &  MacKenzie   secured  the    Sauganash 


*  MARRIED.— In  this  place  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  inst..  Hilly 
Caldwell,  chief  of  the  United  Nations  of  Ottawa,  Pottawatomie,  and 
Chippewa  Indians,  to  Saugua  le  Grand,  of  the  Pottawatomie  Nation.— 
Chicago  Democrat,  November  10,  1834. 

45 


Standard   Daily 
Through   Sleeping  Cars 


BETWEEN 


CHICAGO 


AND 


Galveston 


VIA   THE 


WABASH 
IRON  MOUNTAIN 
TEXAS  &  PACIFIC,  and 
INT.  &  GT.  NOR.   R'YS 


AND 


Los 
Angeles 


VI  \  THE 


WABASH 

IRON  MOUNTAIN 

TEXAS  &  PACIFIC,  and 

SOUTHERN  PACIFIC 

RAILWAYS 


FOR    SLEEPING    CAR    RESERVATIONS,  TICKETS.  AND    FULL 
INFORMATION    APPLY   AT 

City    Ticket    Office,    97    Adams    St.,    Chicago 


F.  A.  Palmer 

Assistant  General  Passenger  Agenl 
Chicago 


C.  S.  Crane 

ral  Passenger  and  Ticket  Agent 
St.  Louis 


and  converted  the  dining-room  into  a  theatre  accommo 
it   200  persons.     The  Moor  was  level  and  the  seats 
rough  boards,  although   a  few  common  chairs  were  placi 
front   for  ladies  and   their  escorts.       The   building    had  b< 
reconstructed    internally    to    represent     a    complete    moder 
theatre   in    miniature      This  was   a  great    building   lor  a  city 
scarcely  seven    months   ..Id.  and  with   just   4,179   inhabitants. 
The    price    of    admission    was    75    cents.     The    opening    play 
on    this  eventful    first    night    of    October    17.    [837,    was 
three-act    melodrama    by  J.   T.    Haines,  entitled  -'The     Idiot 
Witness,  or  A  Talc  of  Blood."     The  leading  man  was  William 
Leicester,  an    Englishman.      Harry  Isherwood,  who   did    the 
•plain  acting  "as  he  termed  it,  was  also  the  scenic  artist  of 
the  company.     He  painted  the  first  scenery  used  in  Chicago, 
and  as   late   as  1S7S  was  scenic   artist  at  Wallack's  Theatre. 
Mew  York,  his  "  exteriors  "  being   particularly  fine.      He  was 
born   in    New  York,  where    he    made   his   debut   at  the  Park 
Theatre  as  Richard  III.,  and  lived  to  be  over  eighty  yea^ 
age.     Alexander  Mackenzie,  the  junior  partner,  was  an  uncle 
of  the  present  Joseph  Jefferson,  having  married  Miss  Ht 
Jefferson,  a   sister  of  the   present  Joseph   Jefferson's    father. 
Mrs.  MacKenzie,  born  in   1811.  and  educated  in  Philadelphia, 
had   the   distinction   of   being   the   first  woman   to   play  Mrs. 
Malaprop  in  "The  Rivals  "in  America,  and  likewise  the  first 
in  Chicago.     Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  MacKenzie  now  lie  buried  in 
the  old  City  Cemetery  at  Nashville,  Tennessee.     William  Lei- 
cester, who  played  Robert  Arnaud  on  that  eventful  night,  had 
the  honor  later  of  being  the  first  man  to  play  Shylock  in  Chi- 
cago.    In  after  days  he  succumbed  to  the  demon  drink.     That 
Chicago  was  even   then    an  enterprising  place    is  proven  by 
the  fact  that  "  The  Idiot  Witness"  was  first  seen  in  America 
at  the  old  Warren   Theatre,  Boston,  in    1S36,  so  that  it   took 
barely  a  year  for  the  play  to  come  from  the  center  of  learning 
10   the  village   in   the  wilderness.      It   is   interesting   to   note 
that  there  is  still   one  dearly  beloved  actress  among  us  who 
»k    part  in  a   performance  of  this    melodrama  as  far  back 
[849,  when   it   was   presented    at    the    National    The 


47 


it 


The  Stratford 

MICHIGAN    AND   JACKSON    BOULEVARDS, 
Next  Door  to  Illinois  Theatre. 


» 


GEO.  B.    WEAVER. 


200  Rooms   /♦    125  Ball) = Rooms 

Located  in  the  heart  of  Business,  Shopping,  and  Theatre  Districts. 

Rates,  $L50  and  Upwards. 

Ok  handsomest  "Dutcb"  Room  in  America. 

Cuisine  RiglKlass* 

Special  attention  given  to  after -theatre  diners. 
The  hotel  is  equipped  wfth  the  latest  and  best  sanitary  improvements. 


Boston.     This  dear  old  lady,  whose  career  has  I  i  ant 

succession    of    triumphs,  is    Mrs.  \Y.  G.  Joins,  who    fifty-f out- 
played J  nana  to  the  Pepita  of  Miss  Maude  Adams 
in    "The    Pretty   Sister   of     lose"    at    the    [Hi  heatre, 

Octob<  [903.     That  old   first  theatre  did  not  even  boast 

on   wooden  sidewalk.       Instead  there  was  an  ordi- 
nary  earthen    pathway,   with   two  short  and  stumpy  hitching 
posts    opposite   the    front    doorway,  which  was    barely  large 
admit  two  persons  at  one  time.      In    1S84    Harry 
[sherwood,  then  eighty  years  of  age,  wrote  to  Mr.  James  H. 
McVicker  from  New  York  that  he  remembered  but  one  play 
given  during  the  first  season  of  [S37,  namely,  "The  Stranger," 
adding  "you  do  me  wrong  to  call   me  from  the  grave."     It 
is  an  interesting  fact  that  at  least  three  of  the  early  Chicago 
actors    were    also    scenic    artists,    namely,    Harry    Isherwood, 
Joseph  Jefferson  II.,  and  Mr.  Beckwith,  who  was  a  memlx 
John  B.  Rice's  company  in  1S47  and  [S48.      In  those  early  days 
the  auction  rooms  had  come  nearest  to  being  places  of  amuse- 
ment during  the  long  evenings,  so  naturally  the  theatre  was 
heartily  welcomed.       The    plays  were  well    given    and   were 
.always  followed  by  a  farce.     The  playbills  were  not  the  cum- 
brous  pamphlets   of   the    twentieth    century,  but  were    small 
handbills,  about  12x6  inches  in  size,  and  were  distributed  by 
carriers   every  morning,  as   there  were  then  no   daily  papers 
in  the  city.     Of  the  plays  presented  during  that  first  season 
no   complete   record   is  to   be   found.     But  it   is  known  that 
Thomas  Sankey  played  the  "  old  men  ";  James  S.  Wright  was 
the  "walking  gentleman,"  and  Mrs.  David  Ingersoll  was  the 
"  leading  lady."     Others  in  the  company  were  Mrs.  Alexander 
MaeKenzie,  Madame  Analine,  actress  and  danseuse,  and  the 
present  Joseph  Jefferson's  gifted  half-brother,  Charles  Burke, 
who  acted,  and   danced  the  Highland  fling   and   the    sailor's 
hornpipe.      Mrs.    David    Ingersoll    was  another   aunt   of   the 
present  Joseph  Jefferson.     She  had  married  David  Ingersoll, 
a  tragedian  of  great  promise,  who  died  in  St.  Louis  in   1 
aged  25  years.     She  was  an  actress  and  a  dancer,  and  lived  at 
the  old  Lake  House,  a  three-story  brick  structure  built  in 

.      4i> 


The  electrical  features  of  the  Iroquois  Theatre  were 
installed  by  the  Chicago  Edison  Company. 

Electricity  for  both  light  and  power  is  supplied  entirely 
from  our  street  mains  —  the  Modern  Method. 


at  the  corner  of   Rush  and    K 

dancing  to  young  Chi<  ;  upany  1' 

she  remained    a    while    in    Chicago   and    conti 
After  leavinj  igo  she  married  1 

he  old  compa  he  Sauganash,  who 

upter  at   Watlack  s 
New  York  on  J  i 

■  impany  <>\    actors  | 

pie  for  S'  id  then  left  the  city,  presumabl 

appear  in   other    cities  in    Illinois,   and    ])ossil)ly   in   St.    L<> 
The  towns  that    pr<  th         »mpany  wen 

(now    |oliet).    Ottawa.    Peoria,  Jacksonville,    Springfield, 
Vandalia,  the  last  named  being  then  the  capital  of  Illinois.      It 
has  been  claimed   by  certain  old  ■  ago  th. 

.nuances  at  the  Sauganash,  in  October, 1837,  were  undoubt- 
edly the  first  in  the  State  of   Illinois,  a  statement  hardly  apt  to 

rue,  as  a  number  of  the  adjoining  towns  were  much' older 
and  larger  in  1S37  than  Chicago,  and  must  have  drawn  to  them 
some  of  the  roving  companies  that  were  seen  in  St.  Louis  and 
the  Southern  cities  before  Chicago  was  incorporate 

The    company    returned    in  ind    included    amom 

members  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Greenbury  C.  Germon,  then  recently 
married.  The  latter,  Jane  Anderson  Germon,  was  then  but  16 
years  of  age,  and  was  a  cousin  of  the  present  Joseph.  Jefferson. 
Her  mother  was  the  first  Joseph  Jefferson's  favorite  daughter, 
Euphemia  Jefferson,  who  was  born  Euphemia  Fortune,  in  New 
York,  in  1  774,  on  the  identical  day  that  her  prospective  husband 
was  born  at  Plymouth,  England.  Euphemia's  sister.  Esther 
Fortune,  became  the  second  wife  of  William  Warren,  the  elder, 
and  in  this  manner  the  Jefferson  and  Warren  families 
became  related  to  each  other,  a  relationship  emphasized  in  Chi- 
cago, in  [867,  when  Joseph  Jefferson  III.  married  Miss  Sarah 
Anne  Isabel  De  Shields  Warren,  daughter  of  Henry  Warren 
II.  lane  Anderson  Germon,  who  at  last  accounts  was  still 
living  in  Baltimore,  retired  from  the  stage  during  the 
of  [8S9-1890.     Two  years  after  her  first  arrival  in  Chic 

was  in  Augusta.  C.a.,  where  on  June  13.  [840,  she  became  the 

51 


>k 


&c 


OjOME  admirer,  name  and  address  unknown,  wrote  this  sentence  on 
^  the  back  of  a  menu  card  after  a  satisfactory  meal  in  a  Burlington 
dining  car.  It  means  that  the  Burlington  offers  passenger  service 
that  suits  its  patrons  in  every  particular.  The  schedules  of  Burlington 
trains  are  fast,, but  reliable;  the  equipment  comfortable;  the  employes 
courteous;  the  dining  car  service  unexcelled. 

Burlington  lines  gridiron  the  West,  reaching  practically  every 
important  point  between  Chicago,  St.  Louis  and  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Limited  trains  (no  extra  fare)  between  Chicago  and  St.  Paul,  St.  Paul 
and  St.  Louis,  Chicago  and  Kansas  City,  Chicago  and  Denver,  St.  Louis. 
Kansas  City  and  Denver.     Through  service  to  California  via  Colorado. 

Through  service  to  the  Pacific  Northwest  via  St.  Paul, 

Billings  and  Denver. 

Tell  me  what  point  you  want  to  reach  and  I  will  tell  you 
how  to  get  there,  and  what  it  will  cost. 

P.  S.  EUSTIS,  Passenger  Traffic  Manager,  CHICAGO. 
73 


mother  of  the  talented  Effie  Germon,  who  was  for  many  years 
a  favorite  comedienne  at  Wallack's  Theatre,  New  York.  Mr. 
Germon,  at  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Chicago,  was  but  22  years 
of  aye.  He  played  the  usual  variety  of  parts  while  in  Chica 
:uu\  afterward  became  the  original  Uncle  Tom  in  "  Unqle 
Tom's  Cabin."  lie  died  in  Chicago  April  14,  1S54,  aged  38 
years.  William  Warren,  then  only  26  years  of  aye,  was  a 
member  of  this  company  of  pioneer  actors  and  became  an 
immediate  favorite,  appearing  in  several  of  the  roles  in  which 
he  afterward  won  so  much  fame  and  popularity  in  Boston, 
favoring  Chicago  with  his  Sir  Lucius  O'Trigger  in  "The 
Rivals"  as  far  back  as  October  30,  [839,  when  the  majority 
of  the  patrons  of  the  playhouse  were  unfamiliar  with  classic 
comedy,  either  in  the  library  or  on  the  boards. 

And  in  this  company  was  a  little  boy  who  lived  to  be  the 
dean  of  the  American  stage,  whose  exquisite  art  has  never 
been  excelled  in  the  playhouse,  whose  long  flaxen  hair  grew 
shorter  with  the  years,  then  darker,  and  then  whiter  as  the 
blessings  of  aye  silvered  his  brow,  the  while  the  player  and 
the  play-goer  learned  to  delight  in  the  genius  and  profit  by  the 
art  of  Joseph  Jefferson,  who  was  born  at  the  southwest  corner 
of  Spruce  and  Sixth  Streets,  Philadelphia,  February  20,  1S29. 
Ilis  mother  was  Cornelia  Frances  St.  Thomas  Jefferson,  his 
father  being  her  second  husband.  Young  Jefferson's  first 
playhouse  was  "behind  the  scenes,"  and  when  on  Monday 
evening,  September  28,  1903,  Chicago  was  celebrating  her  Cen- 
tennial, Joseph  Jefferson  had  the  distinguished  privilege  of 
appearing  at  Powers'  Theatre  in  "Rip  Van  Winkle"  and  of 
saying  to  his  attentive  audience  at  the  close  of  the  play:  "  I 
played  in  Chicago  sixty-five  years  ago." 

It  was  soon  found  that  the  Sauganash  was  in  the  outskirts 
of  the  city,  so  the  next  building  to  be  converted  into  a  theatre 
and  opened  in  May,  1S3S,  was  known  as  the  Rialto,  a  cheap 
wooden  structure  at  Nos.  S  and  10  South  Dearborn  Street,  and 
owned  by  Augustus  Garrett,  who  became  Mayor  of  Chicago 
in  1S43.  The  theatre  was  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  struc- 
ture, a  room  30  x  So  feet  in  size.     Benjamin  F.  Taylor  described 

53 


JACKSON  BOULEVARD  AND  WABASH  AVENUE 
OPPOSITE  THE  ILLINOIS  THEATER 

CUISINE   THE   FINEST  IN   AMERICA 


SPECIAL   CARE   TAKEN 
OF  THEATER    PARTIES 

WE  DESIRE' TO  CALL  PARTICULAR  ATTENTION  TO  OUR  THREE 
DEPARTMENTS  ON  THE  OFFICE  FLOOR,  KNOWN  AS 

The   Wellington   ' ' L  ini  ited ' 
The   Wellington    White  Room 
The   Wellington   Mahogany  Room 


IN  THE  BASEMENT  OUR 

WHITE.   MARBLE.   CAFE, 

ON   THE  PARLOR  FLOOR 

SPECIAL  DINING   ROOMS 

CAPABLE  OF  SEATING  FROM  THREE  TO  EIGHTY   PERSONS 

THE    WELLINGTON  HOTEL 

ALBERT  S.   GAGE,    Prop. 


u  as  "a  den  of  a  place,  lookin;  like  a  dismantled  grist 

tuple  of  anybody.     The  gloomy  enti  ould 

have   furnished  the  ry   for  a  nightmare,  and    th< 

within  were  sepulchral  enough  to  show  up  tin 
I.,:   ,    tia   Borgia.'     But    for   all    thai    those   dingy   old   walls 
to  ring  sometimes  with  renderings  fine  enough  t< 
grander  Thespian  i  though  there  was  a  farce  now  and 

then  somewhat  broader  than  it  was  long." 

Still  the  Rialto  was  not  opened  without  opposition,   for  the 
late  Grant  Goodrich,  a  prominent  citizen  in  his  da 
the  theatre  a  "  menace  to  the  moral  welfare  of  the  city."  con- 
tending   "that   the    tendency    of    the   performance  at    modern 
theatres   was  grossly    demoralizing,   destructive  of  principle," 
and  that  they  "were  nurseries  of  crime."  .  But  tin    Common 
Council    thought    differently    and   fixed    the  theatre  license  at 
#100  a   year, .which   was  $25   less  than   the   opponents  of  the 
enterprise  had  expected  it   would  be.     The   Rialto,  originally 
used  as  an  auction  house  by  L.  W.  Montgomery,  was  quite  in 
the  center  of  the  city.     Side  by  side  were  two  saloons,  "The 
Rialto"   and    "The   Eagle,"   the   latter   kept   by    Ike    Cooke. 
Directly  opposite,  on  the  east  side  of  Dearborn  Street,  close  to 
the    auction    rooms,    was    the    "Eating    House"    known    as 
"  Steele's  Refectory."     The  new  playhouse  was  called  the  Chi- 
cago Theatre,  and  a  number  of  new  people  were  added  to  the 
company  previously  seen  at  the  Sauganash.     Joseph  Jefferson, 
who  first  landed  hereby  boat,  in  May.  1S3S,  remembers  that  the 
Chicago  Theatre  "  was  quite  the  pride  of  the  city,  and  the  idol 
of  the  new  managers,  for  it  had  one  tier  of  boxes  and  a  gallery 
at  the  back.     I  don't  think  that  the  seats  of  the  dress  circle 
were    stuffed,  but  I  am  almost  sure  that  they  were  planed." 
The  company  consisted  of  William  Leicester.  William  Warren, 
James  Wright,  Charles  Burke,  Joseph  Jefferson.  Sr. .  Thomas 
Sankey,  William  Childs,  Harry  Isher wood,  artist,  Joseph  Jeffer 
son,   Jr.,   Mrs.   Alexander  MacKenzie,   Mrs.    Joseph  Jefferson. 
Mrs.  David  Ingersoll,  and  Mrs.  Jane  Germon.     Young  Jefferson 
was,  in  his  own  words:     "The  comic  singer   of   this   party, 
making  myself  useful  in  small  parts  and  first  villagers  ;  now 


55 


MISSISSIPPI 


CHICAGOST.  LOUIS 


DAYLIGHT  SPECIAL,  GREEN,  GOLD  AND  BROWN  TRAIN 
DIAMOND  SPECIAL,  NIGHT  TRAIN 


and  then  doing-  duty  us  a  Roman  Senator  at  the  back,  wrapped 
in  a  clean  hotel  sheet,  with  my  head  peering  over  the  profile 
banquet  tables.  1  was  just  nine  years  old.  I  was  found  useful 
as  Albert  and  the  Duke  of  York.  In  those  days  the  audience 
used  to  throw  money  on  the  stage  either  for  comic  songs  or 
dances.     And  oh  !  (with  that  thoughtful  pi  which  has 

characterized  my  after  life),  how  1  used  to  lengthen  out  the 
verses."  The  stars  during  the  season-  were  Mrs.  McClure, 
Dan  Marble,  and  A.  A.  Adams.  Some  of  the  plays  aeted 
were  "The  Lady  of  Lyons,"  "The  Stranger,"  "Rob  Roy.' 
"  Damon  and  Pythias,"  "  Wives  as  They  Were,  Maids  as  The) 
Are,"  and  "Sam  Patch."  The  first  season  at  the  Rialto 
continued  until  October,  [SaS,  when  a  benefit  was  tendered 
Mr.  MacKenzie  by  many  of  the  citizens,  fifty-one  in  all,  who 
addressed  a  complimentary  letter  to  him  in  which  they  extolled 
the  artistic  excellence  and  private  worth  of  himself  and  com- 
pany. Among  those  who  signed  it  were:  John  Calhoun, 
Mark  Skinner,  Julius  Wadsworth,  T.  R.  Hubbard,  Thomas 
Hoyne,  George- Kerchival,  Norman  B.  Judd,  11.  0.  Stone,  and 
S.  S.  Bradley.  The  benefit  took  place  October  iS,  1838,  and 
was  notable  for  the  first  performance  in  Chicago  of  "  The  Lady 
of  Lyons."     The  cast  was  as  follows  : 

Claude  Meln  otte wmja™  Leicester 

Beauseant. - .William  Warren 

(;iavjs  Greenburv  C.  Germon 

Colonel  "Damns". -  -  -Thomas  Sankev 

Desehapelles James  Wright 

Caspar. ..Charles  Burke 

Officer .Mr.  Watts 

Pauline  ..Mrs.  David  Ingersoll 

Madame"b"es"chap"elies Mrs.  Joseph  Jeffers. m 

Widow  Melnotte ....Mrs.  Alexander  Mackenzie 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  play  Master  Joseph  Jefferson  sang- 
the  comic  song,  "  Lord  Lovell  and  Lady  Nancy."  Mr.  Germon 
then  recited  "The  Hunters  of  Kentucky"  for  the  first  time  in 
Chicago.  The  performance,  which  began  promptly  at  7 
o'clock,  concluded  with  a  very  pretty  drama.  "Two  Friends." 
The  season  began  in  May  and  closed  in  October,  quite  revers- 
ing the  present  order  of  things.  Xo  performances  were  given 
during  what,  would  now  be  termed  the  season  of  1S3S-1S39. 
In   those   days  if  the   manager  took   in  $100  a   night,   he   did 

57 


California 


'■'■Night 
reading 
made  easy 
by  electric 
berth 
light  sr 


The  Old  Way— dim  lights  in  ceiling 
of  car,  so  that  reading  by  night  is  almost 
impossible.  The  New  Way— electric 
side  lights,  conveniently  placed  in  each 
Pullman  section;  you  can  read  without 
eye-strain;  also  easily  disrobe  or  dress. 

Many  other  new  travel   luxuries  on 


The  California 
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The  California  Limited  runs  be- 
tween Chicago,  Los  Angeles,  San  Diego, 
and  San  Francisco.  Daily  service  com- 
mences November  29,  until  then  semi- 
weekly .  Less  than  three  days  to  southern 
California.  Visit  the  Grand  Canyon  of 
Arizona  en  route — a  mile  deep,  miles 
wide,  and  rainbow-tinted. 

Our  illustrated  booklets,  mailed  free, 
will  help  you  rightly 
plan  a  California  tour. 
Address, 


109 


J.  M.  CONNELL,  General  Agent, 

Adams  Street  CHICAGO 


Santa  le 

%  w 


ALL    THE    WAY 


edingly  well,  and  those  were  the  good  old  days  when  g< 
old  .  md  good  youngi  ontent  t<j  play 

for  a  modest  salary,  when,  in  spite  of  appetites  and  i 
they  still  thought  a  little  more  of  their  art  than  they  did  of 
money,  when  every  player  realized  that  there  was  still  soi 
thing  left  for  him  to  learn.     One  of  the  ai  this  period 

was  [saac  Merritt,  who  was  destined  to  wil  isting  fame 

in   inventor.     He  usually  played   Richard   III.     His  righl 
name  was  I.  M.  Sin:  name  now  world-famous  as  tin. 

inventor  of  the  Singer  sewing  machine.     And  at  this  tii 
April  27,  [839,  Edmund  Hill  attracted  attention- to  his  hotel  on 
omer  opposite  the  Lake  House,  by  calling  it  the  Shake- 
speare.     Han  Warble  came  along  during  the  last  week  of  May, 
1839,  and  "gave  his  Yankee  tricks,  stories,  and  notions  in  full 
His  wife  assisted  him  on  the  stage." 

Chieago  had  an  actors'  colony  in  those  early  days,  for  the  first 
City  I  )irectory,  published  in  1 839,  contained  the  folkrwing  names: 

Hi  kkk,  Charles,  actor.  Chicago  Theatre. 

rmon,  Greene  C,  actor,  Chieago  1  heatre. 
GREENE,  C.  L  .  actor,  Chicago  Theatre. 

erson  &  Mackenzie,  managers,  Chicago  Theatre,  Dearborn  St. 
Jefferson,  [oseph,  Jefferson  &  MacKenzie. 
Jefferson,  Joseph,  "(Joe  ,  comedian,  Chicago  Theatre. 
JEFFERSON,  Thomas; actor,  Chicago  Theatre. 
Mackenzie,  Alexander,  Theater,  Jefferson  &  MacKenzie. 
Sullivan,  a.,  actor,  Chicago  Theatre. 
Warren,  William,  comedian,  Chicago  Theatre. 
IXGERSOLL,  MRS.,  actress  and  teacher  of  dancing',  bds.  Lake   House. 

On  August  31,   1S39,  the  theatre  was  reopened  by.  Joseph 

Jefferson  (father  of  Rip),  with  Colman's  musical  comedy,  "  The 

Review,    or   The   Wag    of   Windsor,"   and    "  The    Illustrious 

Stranger,  or  Buried  Alive."     The  company  was  practically  the 

same  as  during    1S3S,  with   the   addition   of  A.   Sullivan  and 

C.  L.  Green.     Mr.  Jefferson,  who  like  his  son  was  a  painter  as 

well  as  an  actor,  had  succeeded  Mr.  Isherwood  as  Alexander 

MacKenzie's  partner.     The  theatre  had  been  newly  painted. 

The  motto  over  the  drop  curtain  was  :   "  For  Useful  Mirth  Or 

Salutary  Woe."     Chicago   audiences  of  that  day  were  not  so 

well  behaved  as  might  have  been  desired,  for  the  daily  paper 

felt  called  upon  to  say  "  There  is  a  police  in  attendance  whoso 

duty  it  is  to  preserve  strict  order  and  decorum  in  the  theatre. 

he  ladies  are  waiting  for  fashionable  precedents,   we  will 

59 


THE  OVERLAND  LIMITED:' 
Electric  Liglited. 


^y  THREE  O*  * 
CHICAGO 

TO 

CALIFORNIA 

VIA 

UNION  PACIFIC 

ON 

'THE  OVERLAND  LIMITED" 


Finest 
Train 


UNION 
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Smoothest 
Roadbed 


Daylight  ride  through  Echo  and  Weber 
Canons,  skirting  GREAT  SALT  LAKE, 
down  the  Humboldt  Valley  and  over  the 
wondrously  beautiful  Sierra  N  e  v  a  d  a  s . 

Full  Information   Cheerfully  Furnished  on  Application  to 

W.  G.  NEIMYER,  G.  A. 

193  South  Clark  St. 


inform  them  that  tit   Springfield,  in  this  State  the  tl  '.as 

attended  generally  by  the  beauty  and  fashion  of  the  fair 
and  by  the  gen tl«  £  the  plaee,  of  all  official  positions  fi 

fudge  of  the  Supreme  Court  down.     This 
we  believe,  at  St.  Louis  and  in  the  East." 

Joseph    [efferson,  ond,  was  born   in    Philadelphia  in 

iSo4,  and  in  [826  married  Mrs.  Burke,  who  was  eight  years  his 
senior.      He  was  manager  and  act<  always  painted  Ids 

own  scenery.  He  died  suddenly  at  .Mobile,  Ala.,  at  midnight, 
Thursday,  November  24,  [S42,  of  yellow  fever,  lie  was  buried 
the  next  day  in  Magnolia  Cemetery,  Mobile,  the  theatre  being 
closed  two  nights,  as  the  company,  with  the  exception  of  six 
people,  was  composed  entirely  of  members  of  the  great  Jeffer- 
son family,  and  it  was  impossible  to  play  without  the  ehiel 
mourners.  Mr.  John  T.  Ford,  of  Baltimore,  said  that  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson "  was  one  of  the  most  lovable  men  that  ever  lived." 

Up  to  this  time  no  regular  theatrical  advertisements  had 
appeared  in  the  daily  paper,  editorial  paragraphs  taking  their 
plaee.  But  on  Monday  evening,  September  9,  1S39,  the  first 
regular  advertisement  in  behalf  of  a  legitimate  theatrical  per- 
formance in  Chicago  made  its  appearance  as  follows: 

THEATER. 

Monday  Evening,  September  9,  1839. 

Will  be  presented  the  drama  called 

The  Magpie  and  the  Maid,  or  Which  is  the  Thief? 

Parmer  Gerald Mr.  Green 

Hen  jamin,  a  |  e\v  Pedlar -  -  -- J  eitei  son 

\nnette  -     : ..Mrs.  Ingersoll 

Dame  Gerald,. ---- MacKenzie 

After  which  a  CONCERT.— Par-j  I 
Ballad  bv  Mr.  Dempster    ••  She  wore  a  wreath 
roses  ".  'New  Song,  by  Mr.  Dempster,  "  Can  I 
forget  to  love  thee?  "— composed  by  himself— 
Scottish  Ballad  by  Mr.  Dempster    "  Saw  ye  my  wee  tiling.  ' 

Part  II 
The  Angel's  Whipcr,  by  Mr.  Dempster.— 
Song  by  Mr.  Dempster,  "  Some  love  to  roam  o'er 
the  dark  sea  foam.  "     Song  by  Mr.  Dempster, 
■  Oh  promise  me  to  sing  love  ". 

To  conclude  with  the  Irish  Tutor,  or  New  Lights. 

(51 


J.  H.   DIMERY,  President.  t    W    rtt  vrtnv     ^^  ™ 

J..    »\  .    ijILiMUKi,    Secv  and   Theas 
ESTABLISHED     1859. 

C.  W.  Wilmartl)  Co. 


High=Class 
Gas  and 
Electric 
Fixtures 


261    WABASH   AVENUE,   CHICAGO 

Telephone,   Harrison  3362. 

'        LIGHTING     FIXTURES     FOR     THIS     THEATER 
FURNISHED     BY     US. 

WE    HAVE     CONTRACTS    FOR    THE    LIGHTING   FIXTURES 
FOR    THE    FOLLOWING    BUILDINGS: 

First  National   Bank   Building  .  ..Chicago,  111. 

Railway  Exchange  Building Chicago,  111. 

Nixon  Theater  and  Building Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Butler  Hotel ; Seattle,  Wash. 

Joliet   Public  Library Joliet,   111. 

Chesbrough  Building Toledo,  Ohio 

Hibernia   Bank  Building New  Orleans,   La. 

Third  National  Bank Cincinnati,  Ohio 

First  National   Bank Cincinnati,  Ohio 

Doctor  Coffee's  Residence Des  Moines,  Iowa 

Mr.  W.  J.  Young's    Residence Clinton,  Iowa 

Governor  Toole's  Residence Helena,  Mont. 


that  there  was 
nd  thai  two  or  tli 
"  (  Hiver  Twist"  had  ormanee  in  l 

rmon  playing  ( )liver;  Mr.  Sank* 
[am  Warren,  Bill  Sykes ;  and  .Mrs.  MacKenzie,  Nj 

i,  was  another  importanl 
Colman's  "The  Poor  Gentleman"  being  played  with  Will 
Warren  as  Dr.  Ollapod.     "She  Stoops  to  • 
given  on  Thursday,  September  [9,  1S39,  and  "  Jan- 
Friday,  September  20,  [839,  with  M  non  as  Jam    - 
During  the  last  wi                                            1,  the  managi 
found   il                 try  to  build  "a  separate  entrance  for  lad- 
due  no  doubt  to  the  rather  rude  behavior  of  the  in. 
goers  of  that  period.     "Damon  and  Pythias  "  was  given 
first  time  Friday,  September  27,    [S39,  with  Mr.    I. 
Damon  and  Mrs.  Germon  as  Calanthe.     The  house  wa 

The  time  was  now  ripe  for  the  advent 
and  the1  Mrs.  McClure  and  Air.  Charles  Kemble  M: 

had  the  honor  of  being  the  first  stars  to  shine  in  Chicago.    T 
appeared   on  Wednesday,   October  2,    1S39,  in  "The  Lad 
Lyons."     The  next  evening  they  gave  "  The  Wonder"  for 
first  time  here.     Friday,   October  4.    [S39,  "Fazio"  was 
for  the   first  time,   followed  by   "  Katherine    and    Petrucl 
Still   the    first   presentation    of   a   Shakespearean   pla; 
entirety   did  not   take   place   until   [Monday,   October 
Mrs.  McClure  being  the  first  Juliet  and  .Mr.   Mason  the 
Romeo  Chicago  ever  saw.      "  Macbeth"  was  first  given  IT. 
October  10,  1S39,  with  Mr.  Mason  as  Macbeth,  Mr.  Leice 
as  Macduff,  and  Mrs.  McClure  as  Lady  Macbeth.     And 

jay,  the  Shakespearean  performances  were  the  best  <>:'    . 

season.    And  then  followed  the  first  performance  of  "  Ham 

Tuesday,  October  15.  1S39.     It  was  given  for  Mr.  MacKen 

benefit,  and  Charles  Kemble  Mason  had  the  distinction  of  b< 

our  first   Hamlet,  while  Mrs.   McClure  was   our   first   Oph< 

Mr.  James  H.  McVicker,  in  his  interesting  reminiscent  - 

early  Chicago  stage,  credits  Charles  Kemble  Mason  with  b< 

the  first  Shylock  that  Chicago  ever 

63 


F.  P.  SMITH 
WIRE  AND 
IRON  WORKS 


& 


ORNA M ENTAL 
IRON  AND-  BRONZE 


0 


Art  Metal  Work 


FURNISHED     FOR 


Iroquois  and  Illinois  Theatres 


Office  and  Warehouse  Factory  :     Chester  St., 

ioo  and  102  Lake  St.  Clybonni  and  Fullerton  Aves. 


"      CHICAGO 


"The   Merchant  of   Venice"   was   not   given   until   Thursday 
October  17,  [839,  and  for  William  Leicestei  fit,  that  ■. 

tleman  appearing  as  Shylock.  On  October  21,  [839,  "  Pizarro, 
or  the  death  of  Rolla  "  was  given,  little  Joseph  Jefferson  appear- 
ing as  the  child.  How  many  in  the  audience  thought  of  seeing 
him  in  [868  as  Rip  Van  Winkle  ?  Wednesday  October  jo,  • 
is  of  historic  interest,  for  on  that  evening  "The  Rivals"  was 
given  for  the  first  time  in  Chicago  and  for  the  benefit  of  Will 
Warren,  although  no  mention  of  his  name  was  made  in  the 
simple  advertisement  of  that  daw  and  which  read  as  follows: 


THEATER. 

Wednesday  Evening,  October  30,  1839 

Will  Be  Presented 

THE    RIVALSOr,  A  Trip  to  Bath. 


To  conclude  with 

THE    MILLER'S    MAID. 

Please  observe  the  Jeffersonian  flavor  of  the  cast  : 

Sir  Anthony  Absolute .. Thomas  Sankey 

Bob  Acres Joseph  Jefferson 

Captain  Absolute William  Leicester 

Faulkland Greenbury  C.  Germon 

P»vid .C.  L.  Green 

Sir  Lucius  O'Trigger William  Warren 

fag  - - -. Charles  Burke 

Mrs.  Malaprop.. ...... .....Mis.  Alexander  MacKenzie 

Lydia  Languish.... Mrs.  David  Ingersoll 

fulia. Mrs.  Greenbury  C.  Germon 

Lucy Mrs.  Joseph  Jefferson 

The  cast  included  Mr.  Jefferson,  his  wife,  his  two  sisters, 

his   niece,  his  stepson,  his   cousin,  and   his  niece's  husband. 

At   this  time   the  elder   Jefferson  was   only  35   years  of  age, 

63 


CALIFORNIA) 


The  Land  of 
Sunshine,  Fruit 
and  Flowers 

California  is  less  than 
three  days  away. 

Its  balmy  breezes,  blue 
sea,  smiling  orchards, 
and  beautiful  mountain 
ranges,  its  magnificent 
opportunities  for  outdoor 
sports  and  its  health- 
laden  air,  make  it  the 
greatest  winter  resort 
known, 

The  most  luxurious 
train  in  the  world,  the 
famous     electric -lighted 


Overland  Limited 

leaving  Chicago  daily  at  8.00  p.m.,  makes  the  journey  to  California 
via  The  North- Western  Line  in  less  than  three  days. 

The  route  of  the  Limited  is  over  the  only  double-track  railway 
between  Chicago  and  the  Missouri  River,  through  Omaha,  Cheyenne 
and  Ogden,  down  the  Valley  of  the  Sacramento  to  the  Golden  Gate, 
and  via  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  or  over  the  beautiful  Coastline  (where 
for  a  hundred  miles  the  road  lies  along  the  shore  of  the  shining  Pacific) 
to  Los  Angeles. 

Two  fast  trains  through  to  California  leave  Chicago 
via  the  Chicago  &  North-Western  Railway  daily.  Sleep- 
ing car  reservations  and  full  information  on   request. 

TICKET  OFFICES. 

212  Clark  St.  and  WellsSt.  Station,  Telephone  Central  721 
nw.29  CHICAGO.  ILL. 


Mrs.  Jefferson  was  43  ;  Charles  Burke  only  17  ;  Mrs.  Ingersoll 
about  24;  Mrs.  MacKenxie  about  28;  Mrs.  Germon  17,  and  Mr. 
Germon  23.  William  Warren,  born  in  Philadelphia,  November 
17,  [812,  was  27  years  of  age.  From  here  Mr.  Warren  went 
to  Buffalo  and  then  to  Boston.  He  died  at  2  Bullfinch  Place. 
Boston,  September  21,  1888.  The  season  at  the  Rialto  closed 
on  Saturday  evening,  November  2,  1839,  with  "The  Devil's 
Ducat,"  a  drama,  followed  by  a  nautical  piece,  "Tom  Crin- 
gle's Dog."     And   what  became  of   the  old  Sauganash?     On 


April  9,  1840,  the  following  advertisement  appeared  in  Chi- 
cago's daily : 

"  SAUGANASH  HOTEL.  This  old  establishment  is  now  fitted  up 
in  elegant  style,  and  has  resumed  its  original  and  native  name,  with  a 
thorough  reformation  of  old  habits  and  customs.     JOHN  MURPHY." 

But  the  results  of  the  panic  of  1837  were  making  themselves 
felt,  and  for  seven  years  after  1839  there  was  no  dramatic  com- 
pany of  special  repute  in  the  city.  Mrs.  J.  G.  Porter  reopened 
the  Chicago  Theatre  on  March  31,  1842,  and  tried  to  give  per- 
formances without  a  license,  hoping  to  open  in  a  burletta, 

67 


ESTABLISHED     1ST  7 


L.  H.  PRENTICE 
COMPANY 


ENGINEERS    AN  D 
CONTRACTORS     FOR 


STEAM  and  HOT  WATER  HEATING 

and  VENTILATING  APPARATUS 


HOT    BEAST    HEATING    AND 
MECHANICAL  VENTILATION 


24-26  SHERMAN  ST..  NEAR  BOARD  OF  TRADE 

CHICAGO 


PROBABLY    THE     LARGEST     FIRM     OF    THIS     KIND     IN    THE    WORLD, 

VIZ.:    EXCLUSIVELY    HEATING    APPARATUS,    STEAM 

AND     HOT    WATER,    THAT     IT  EATS 


'  The  Swiss  Cottage."  She  was  Chicago's  first  woman  man- 
ager, and  on  April  4  she  petitioned  the  Council  for  forgiveness 
and  a  license.  She  secured  both,  the  price  of  the  latter  being 
$30.  that  of  the  former  not  being  quoted.     On  Saturday,  April 

lie  announced  a  benefit  for  herself.  It  was  to  be  her  last 
appearance    before    leaving    for    Buffalo.      The    performance 

an  with  the  burlesque  "  The  Manager  in  Distress,  or  All  in 
a  Quandary,"  certainly  a  most  appropriate  title.  Mrs.  Porter 
was  the  eldest  daughter  of  Mrs.  Marv  Duff. 


(  m  August  30,  1-42,  Chicago  had  its  first  real  opportunity  to 
judge  of  the  dramatic  qualities  of  Danford  Marble,  who  with 
Mrs.  Marble  appeared  at  the  Rialto  in  "  The  Forest  Rose,  or 
The  American  Farmer."  Marble  was  Jonathan  Ploughboy  and 
Mrs.  Sillsbe  (late  Mrs.  Trowbridge)  was  Harriet.  The  opening- 
play  of  the  brief  engagement  of  three  nights  was  supplemented 
with  "  Black-Eyed  Susan,-'  Mrs.  Sillsbe  playing  Susan,  and  Mr. 
Marble,  William.  Business  was  poor  at  first,  but  as  it  improved, 
the   engagement    was    several   times    extended    and    fourteen 

formances  were  given.     For  Marble's  benefit  on  Monday, 


There  Is  But  One  Niagara 
There  Is  But  One  Road  * . . 

Running  directly  by  and  in  full  view  of  the  entire  panorama  of  the 

cataract.     It  is  the 

Michigan  Central 


The  Niagara  Falls  Route  between 

Chicago,    Detroit,    Buffalo, 
New  York,  and  Boston  .  .  . 

Send  three   red  stamps  for    Niagara   Booklet,   and  ask  about 
the  new  Niagara  picture. 

City  Ticket  Office,  119  Adams  Street 

O.  W.  RUGGLES,  G.  P.  AND  T.  A.   CHICAGO. 


September  5,  1842,  the  prize  comedy,  "The  Yankee  in  Time," 
was  given  for  the  first  time  here,  with  Marble  as  Jacob  Jew- 
sharp,  a  role  in  which  Jam--  II.  McVicker distinguished  hims 
in  after  years.     Listen  to  Benjamin  F.  Taylor  : 

"It   was  in   that   dirty  old   rat  trap,  the  'Rialto,'  I   think,  that   1   saw 
Dan  Marble  for  the  first  time.     '  Black-Eyed  Susan  '  and  Marble's  admir- 
able William  melted  the  bouse,  as  if  it  had  been  something  in  a  crucil 
It  was,  in  its  way,  the  perfei  simplicity  of  nature.    The  audience 

was  a  little  mixed.  There  were  the  fellows  that  in  New  York  would 
have  'killed  the  Reiser,'  1  he  '  wake-me-np-when-Kirby-dies  stripe.' 
There  was  a  small  handful  of  half-1  1  sprinkling  of  lieuteua 

from  the  army,  one  or  two  worn-out  paymasters.  The  pit  was  full  ol 
sailors,  with  occasionally  a  wharf-rat;  but.  for  fresh-water  tat 
was  a  wonderful  effusion  of  salt  water,  liven  the  always  conscious 
dress-circle  fluttered  with  any  number  of  white  cambric  mops,  and 
when  the  play  took  the  right  turn  at  last,  the  'gods'  applauded  and  the 
spiders  hovering  in  their  webs,  and  the  mice  in  the  walls,  were  whist. 
Even  the  chaps  that  spent  their  time  in  the  interludes  in  bawling  'boots' 
and  '  supe  '  and  eating  peanuts,  mopped  out  the  corner  of  their  eyes 
with  their  dirty  knuckles,  and  had  the  theatrical  management  furnished 
soap,  as  well  as  sorrow,  some  of  them  might  have  put  a  better  face  on  the 
matter.  I  can  see  the  central  figures  of  that  dress-circle  to-day.  Hands 
that  I  think  have  shriveled  out  of  the  white  kids  they  wore  that  night. 
The  blue  dress  coats  and  buff  vests  have  been  laid  aside  for  other  and 
stranger  wear.  Yonder,  crowned  with  iron-gray  Jacksonian  hair,  is  the 
stately  form  of  Colonel  Kcrchival.  The  man  near  him  with  large  luminous 
eyes  is  the  Hon.  Giles  Spring,  owner  of  one  of  the  finest  judicial  minds 
that  ever  graced  the  State.  Beyond  him  is  Doctor  Maxwell,  with  a  step 
as  light  as  that  of  a  wisp  of  a  girl,  for  all  of  his  two  hundred  and  odd 
pounds  of  solid  flesh.  Close  by  are  E.  W.  Tracy,  George  W.  Meeker, 
and  Doctor  Stuart,  and  — but  why  keep  on  calling  the  dead  men's  roll? 
Some  of  the  beauty  as  well  as  the  manhood  of  the  young  city  was  there, 
and  brightened  up  the  dull  old  place  like  moonlight ;  but  what  matters 
it?  The  footlights  are  out,  the  players  departed,  and  the  air  is  full  of 
dust  withal.     Down  with  the  curtain." 

"Richard  III"  was  first  given  Saturday.  August  20,  1S42, 
with  Mr.  Lyne  as  Gloster,  and  "Othello"  was  introduced  to 
Chicago,  September  14,  1S42,  in  a  unique  way.  There  was  a 
tailor  here  who  "had  been  told  by  his  friends  that  he  could 
act,"  and  he  applied  to  the  management  for  an  opportunity. 
There  were  not  many  tailors  in  Chicago  then,  and  as  he  was 
the  only  one  who  could  act— or  thought  he  could  — there  was  a 
certainty  that  all  his  colleagues,  and  at  least  a  few  of  their 
customers,  would  be  present  if  he  played.  Business  had  not 
been  sufficiently  good  to  resist  the  potency  of  a  great  novelty, 
so  the  tailor  was  permitted  to  prepare  himself.    It  was  arranged 


BALLROOM     AND     STAGE,     KENWOOD     CLUB. 
DECORATED     BY     MARSHALL    FIELD    tV    CO. 


INTERIOR   DECORATING 

Some  of  the  finest  theaters,  residences,  churches,  clubs,  hotels, 
and  public  buildings  which  are  famed  for  their  interior  beauty  are 
examples  of  the  work  of  our  Interior  Decorating-  Section. 

THEATRICAL   COSTUMING 

Some  of  the  most  elaborately  costumed  companies  on  the  Amer- 
ican Stage  were  equipped  by  our  Costuming  Section. 


MARSHALL    FIELD    <S    CO. 
CHICAGO 


to  give  Mrs.  Powell  a  benefit  and  to  allow  the  tailor  to  appear 
in  the  third  act  of  "  Othello,"  it  being  such  an  easy  act  to  play, 
especially  for  a  tailor.  The  tailor,  who  was  billed  as  "  a  gentle- 
man of  this  city,"  did  so  well  that  in  i  >_p  at  Rice's  Chicago 
Theatre,  he  was  allowed  to  play  the  character  in  its  entirety. 
On  another  occasion,  he  played  I  ago,  and  later  lie  became  an 
actor  <>f  good  repute  and  was  known  as  George  Ryer. 

On  Tuesday,  September  27,  1S42,  the  Chapman  Building, 
at  the  southeast  corner  of  Randolph  and  Wells  Streets,  was 
opened  as  a  theatre  by  William  P.  Hastings,  with  "The 
Golden  Farmer."  Tickets,  25  cents!  The  season  was  brief 
and  unsuccessful.  Then  came  "The  Learned  Pig"  in  1844. 
On  November  21,  1844,  a  Museum  began  its  legal  existence 
in  the  Commercial  Building,  at  73  Lake  Street.  Its  manager, 
Henry  Fuller,  boasted  of  an  extensive  variety  of  geology, 
mineralogy,  conchology,  ornithology,  and  promised  that  noth- 
ing should  be  introduced  within  its  walls  not  "in  strict  accord- 
ance with  propriety,  morality,  and  religion."  To  give  variety 
to  the  development  of  the  drama  in  1S44,  at  the  Old  Chicago 
Theatre,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  had  a  fight  one  evening  between 
the  acts,  with  a  lot  of  sailors,  heelers,  and  canal  laborers.  The 
drama  languished  and  the  Rialto  was  again  converted  to  its 
original  purpose.  The  population  had  grown  from  3,265.  in 
J835,  to  3,820,  in  1S36;  to  4,179  in  1S37,  and  had  fallen  to  4.000 
in  1838.  In  1S39  it  was  increased  by  200.  In  1S44,  when  the 
population  had  reached  8,000,  it  was  suggested  by  the  Council 
that  it  was  advisable  to  plank  Lake  Street  between  Dearborn 
and  State  Streets.  Considering  the  city's  drawbacks,  youth. 
and  isolation  it  was  a  matter  of  wonder  that  the  place  could 
boast  of  such  a  good  theatrical  beginning.  They  were  brave 
men  and  women  who  first  trod  the  boards  of  the  Chicago  stage, 
and  the  members  of  the  Jefferson  family  especially  deserve  a 
statue  for  their  honest  and  chaste  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
drama,  when  the  city  boasted  of  its  4,000,  but  had  no  "400.' 
Chicago  had  grown  from  12,088,  in  1S45,  to  14.169,  in  1846.  and 
Thursday.  June  30.  1846.  Christy's  Minstrels  appeared  for  the 
first  time  at  the  City  Saloon    and  two  months  later  the  North 

7  3 


Hansell-Elcock 
Company 


+  + 

| STRUCTURAL | 
t STEEL  AND J 
|  IRON  WORK  | 

>~H"H~f>-M~H"f++++++++  ♦♦♦♦♦♦ 

+  ♦ 


Archer  Ave.  and  23d  Place 

CHICAGO 


ALL  STRUCTURAL  STEEL  AND  IRON 
FOR  THE  IROQUOIS  THEATRE 
FURNISHED   BY  THIS   COMPANY 


and  South  Sides  were  connected  by  a  new  ferryboat  plying 
between  River  and    Rush  Streets,  and  provided  free  by  the 
proprietors  of  the  Lake  House-.      Howe  &  Mabie's  Arena  and 
United    States    Circus    appeared    August    21,    1846,    for    four 
evening  and  one  afternoon  performances.     Among  the  riders 
was  Matthew  Buckley,  who  grew  to  be  the  oldest  showman  in 
the  United  States,  dying  at  Delavan,  Wiseonsin,  February  28, 
[897,  aged  97  years.     In  October,  1S46,  the  old  Rialto  Building 
was  again  converted  into  a  playhouse  and  called  the  National 
Theatre,    opening    with    "The    Golden    Farmer"    and    "The 
Harlequinade."     On    November  9,    [846,   it    was    formally  re- 
opened with  "Wenlock  of  Wenlock,"  with  Reuben  Marshael 
as  Wenlock.     The  season  concluded  November  14th  with  F.  D. 
Wilson  as  Othello.     On  Wednesday,  December  23,  1846,  the 
National  Theatre  became  the  People's  Theatre.     The  opening- 
bill  was  "The  Hunchback,"  with  Madame  LaBurriss  as  Julia  ; 
F.  D.  Wilson  as  Master  Walter  ;  Reuben  Marshael  as  Clifford, 
and  Samuel  Edwin  Brown  as  Fathom.     The  prices  during  this 
engagement  were:     Boxes,  50  cents;    parquette,  37^   cents; 
gallery,  25  cents.    The  performances  began  at  7. 1 5  o'clock.    The 
theatre  changed  its  name  again  to  the  National  on  Thursday, 
January  21,  1S47.     The  next  evening  "  The  Bandit  Chief  "  was 
given,  followed  by  "The  Apostate  "  and  "  The  Lottery  Ticket," 
and  at  2  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  February  1,  1847,  fire  broke 
out  and  the  theatre  and  adjoining  buildings  went  up  in  smoke. 
While  the  house  was  in  a  blaze  a  wag  remarked  that  this  was 
positively  its  last  appearance  "for  the  benefit  of  the  city,"  and 
another  replied  that  he  was  rejoiced  to  see  it  "  so  well  heated 
for  the  occasion."     But  it  should  not  have  been  an  occasion  for 
levity.     The  friend  of  the  drama  should  have  had  a  reverence 
for  the  old  structure  whose  boards  had  been  trodden  by  two 
Joseph  Jeffersons,  Charles  Kemble  Mason,  Charles  Burke,  Dan 
Marble,  and  William  Warren. 

Then  came  glad  tidings:  John  B.  Rice,  destined  to  become 
one  of  Chicago's  brightest  ornaments,  who  was  to  be  Mayor  of 
Chicago  in  after  days  and  the  city's  representative  in  Congress, 
came  here  from  Buffalo  and  recognized  the  fact  that  the  great 


"Speed,  Safety 
and  Comfort" 

Is  the  motto  which  has  earned  for  TtlE  PENNSYLVANIA  SHORT  LINES 
the  leputation  of  being  The  Standard  Railway  of  America 


THE  LIMITED 

AND 

LUXURY 


Both  start  from  Chicago— The  Limited 
at  6.00  p.  m.,  and  luxury  enjoyed  by 
passengers  on  this  train  at  the  same  hour 


THE 
FAMOUS    PENNSYLVANIA    LIMITED 

23    HOURS 
CHICAGO    TO    NEW    YORK 

Leaves  Chicago,  daily,  6.00  p.  m. 
Arrives  New  York  .  .  6.00  p.  m. 


This  train  is 
composed  of 
Pullman  equip- 
ment and  con 
sists  of  Library 
Smoking   Ca 
DiningCar,Dra 
ing  Room  Sleeping 
Car,  and  Compart 
ment  Observatic 
Car — a  solid  ves 
bule  train  Chicago 
New  York. 
EVERY  COMFORT 


SPECIAL 
FEATURES 

originated    on 
the      Pennsyl- 
vania   Limited: 
ibrary    Smok- 
ig    Car,    Barber 
op, Bath  Rooms, 
e  n  o  g  r  a  p  h  e  r, 
Stock    reports  and. 
latest    market    bul- 
;tins,    a    Trained 
aiting   Maid,    ever 
ready  to  assist  ladies 
traveling  alone,  large 
parlor  in   Observation 
Car  (the  rear  having  a 
recessed  and  protected 
platform)  for    sight 
seeing:. 


SEVEN    TRAINS    DAILY  to  the  EAST 


Harbor  and  River  Convention  of  1847  would  bring  thousand 
people  to  the  growing  young  city  of  the  plains,  and  that  I 
would  ask  for  entertainment.     On  May  5,  [847,  he  entered  into 
a  contract  for  the  construction  of  a  building,  to  be  used  ; 

theatre  on  the  south  side  of  Randolph  Street,  and  about  100 
east  of  Dearborn,  within  the  same  square  that  afterward  held 
Crosby's  Opera  House  and  on  the  very  spot  when  th<  Unity 
Building  now  stands.  And  strange  fact,  this,  the  lust  actual 
theatre  to  be  built  in  Chicago,  stood  directly  opposite  the  spol 
where  the  Iroquois  now  stands.  After  fifty-six  years  of  growth 
and  pride  and  change,  the  new  theatre  erected  solely  for  theat- 
rical purposes  stands  across  the  street  from  the  lot  that  har- 
bored the  first  structure  erected  in  Chicago  for  strictly  theatrical 
purposes.  John  B.  Rice,  who  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  James  1'.. 
Kimball,  Mrs.  James  W.  Odell,  Mrs.  William  Smith,  Mrs.  George 
L.  Dunlap,  and  Mrs.  Orson  Smith,  spent  $4,000  on  the  theatre! 
Think  of  it,  $4,000!  But  it  was  a  large  sum  to  expend  on  a 
theatre  at  a  time  when  the  telegraph  reached  no  farther  west 
than  Ypsilanti,  Michigan;  just  seven  months  before  a  telegraph 
line  was  opened  between  Chicago  and  Milwaukee,  namely,  on 
January  20.  1848;  five  years  before  the  first  railway  ran  into 
Chicago  from  the  East  over  the  Michigan  Southern  and  North- 
ern Indiana  tracks,  and  eleven  years  before  the  first  street  cat- 
ran  on  State  Street!  It  is  also  something  of  a  coincidence  that 
this  first  train  from  the  East  was  brought  into  the  city  by 
Thomas  G.  Davis,  the  father  of  Will  J.  Davis,  of  the  Illinois 
and  Iroquois  Theatres.  The  theatre,  built  in  less  than  fifty- 
four  days,  was  an  ordinary  wooden  structure  of  the  period,  two 
stories  high,  and  excessively  plain.  Its  interior  was  more 
ornate,  and  every  part  of  the  house  afforded  a  good  view  of 
the  stage.  The  entire  lower  floor  was  devoted  to  the  pit.  The 
boxes  were  elegantly  furnished  —  for  those  days  —  and  were 
fitted  up  with  carpets  and  settees.  The  little  town  was  enthu- 
siastic over  its  new  playhouse,  which  was  opened  Monday 
evening.  June  28,  t S47.     "Behold  the  opening  bill: 


En- 
gravings 

by 

F.G.Jungblut&Co, 
Chicago 


NEW  CHICAGO  THEATER 

The  Manager  respectfully  announces  to  the 
public  that  the  above  new  and  spacious  establish- 
ment will  be  open  for  their  reception  THIS  (Mon- 
day) evening,' with  a  full  company  of  experienced 
Artists,  and  an  efficient  (  hvhestra. 

IIKsi      NIGH!     <>!      Mil      ENGAGEMEN1     "I 

MRS.   HUNT,  in   i  i\  i    mi  i  i  kim 

CHARACTERS. 

MR.  MARBLE  win.  also  appear 

I  HIS    K\  ENING. 

Previous  to  the  performance,  an  opening  Ad- 
dress, written  by  a  gentleman  of  this  city,  will  be 
delivered  by  Mr.  Harris. 

Monday  evening,  June  28th,  will  be  performed  the 
Comedietta,  entitled 

FOUR  SISTERS; 

Or,    Woman's    Worth    and    Woman's    Ways. 

Caroline  Merton - Mrs.  Hunt 

Diana <jo 

Ugenia - Jo 

Ellen  . ao 

Beau cnamp.V. '.'." '". - Mr   Mossop 

Mr.  Merton. Philhmore 

Tom  Snaffle. - ;;-M^er 

Susan \>-Mr|;Pn^ 

Landlady Mrs.  Stevens 

GRAND  SPANISH  DANCE,  by  Miss  Homer 
Emigrant's  Lament Mr.  Mossop 

To  be  followed  by  the  Yankee  Comedy  of  the 

WOOL  DEALER 

DEUTERONOMY  DUTIFUL MR.  MARBLE 

Capt.  Oakley -. Canoll 

Col.  Gormsley,  with  song  of  Rory  O'More Mossop 

Mr.  Waddle ...Phillimore 

Slap . - Vf-Meo^er 

Amanda    - Mrs.  Price 

Highland  Fling,  Miss  Homer 

The  whole  to  conclude  with  the  Farce  of  the 

YOUNG  SCAMP 

Joseph,  the  Young  Scamp... M?ifr.c£?oU 

Mildew;;;;:::.'.':.'." pwnimore 

Gen'l  Beauvoir v;-"™    ce 

Mrs.  Manly - --  Mrs  Price 

Mrs.  Swansdown - Mrs.  Stevens 

Eliza Miss  Homer 

Admission.  Dress  Circle,  50  cents ;  Parquette, 
25  cts.;  2nd  Tier  of  Boxes,  for  colored  persons, 
25  cts.  No  female  admitted  unless  accompanied 
by  a  gentleman.  Doors  open  at  %  past  7.  Per- 
formance to  commence  at  8  o'clock  precisely. 

70 


TELEPHONE    HARRISON   j    x- 

AVm.  Zander     ...        -        President 
(  >s<  ak  A.  Relm,  Secretary  and   Treasurer 


Zander-  Reum 
Company 


mam 


CONTRACTING 
PLASTERERS 


512    LAKESIDE    BUILDING 
CLARK  AND   ADAMS  STREETS 

CHICAGO 

£)       £)       0 

ROQUOIS  THEATRE    PLASTERING 
DONE   BY  THIS  COMPANY 


The   audience  was  large,  representative,  and  fashionable. 
All  the  pioneers  who  had  built  the  little  city  were  there.    Their 

wives  and  daughters,  mothers,  and  sweethearts  were  there- 
with them.  They  were  all  as  happy  as  the  genial  manaj 
who  was  always  cheerful,  even  in  adversity.  It  was  a  new 
dawn  for  the  little  city,  its  sunrise  of  art,  tor  it  was  then  just 
ten  years,  three  months,  and  twenty -four  days  old,  with  a 
population  of  but  15,000.  The  front  of  the  house  was  not 
crowded  with  automobiles,  or  even  with  carriages,  for  pleasure 
vehicles  were  rare  in  those  days  and  could  not  have  been  used, 
had  they  been  plentiful.  The  roads  were  not  conducive  to  fast 
driving,  and  had  wide  gutters  separating  them  from  the  side- 
walks, when  the  latter  existed.  None  of  the  streets  were  paved, 
and  the  uneven,  broken  sidewalks  with  many  steps  were 
almost  as  bad  as  the  middle  of  the  roadway.  Nor  were  the 
men  in  evening  attire.  They  wore  their  swallow-tailed  coats 
of  blue  cloth  with  brass  buttons,  and  buff  waisteoats.  The 
audience  was  an  inspiration  to  the  players.  Auditors  and 
actors  were  equally  anxious  to  please  each  other.  Those  before 
the  footlights  seemed  to  savin  their  applause  :  "  Followers  of 
Shakespeare's  calling  you  are  welcome!  You  are  among  friends' 
(rive  us  from  the  bounty  of  your  art  and  we  will  give  you  our 
applause.  And  when  the  play  is  done,  we  will  smile  upon  you 
with  our  friendship  in  your  new  home.  Remember  always 
that  we  desire  to  see  '  the  players  well  bestowed.''  And  the 
players,  gladdened  and  inspired,  spoke  and  acted  with  new 
spirit,  as  if  they  meant  to  say  :  "  We  appreciate  your  welcome 
and  we  are  grateful.  We  hope- to  be  worthy  of  your  approba- 
tion. Let  us  be  friends."  If  the  audience  was  an  inspiration 
can  less  be  said  of  the  players?  Were  not  Mrs.  Louisa  Hunt, 
Dan  Marble,  and  John  B.  Rice  on  the  bill  that  glorious  history- 
making  evening  in  June  ?  And  has  Chicago  not  been  faithful 
to  the  memories  of  inimitable  Mrs.  Hunt,  laughter-provoking 
Dan  Marble,  and  honest,  noble  John  B.  Rice?  And  you  know, 
do  you  not,  that  Mrs.  Louisa  Hunt  had  been  born  Louisa  Lane, 
that  she  was  the  brilliant  comedienne  who  afterward  married 
the  comedian  of  the  company,  George  Mossop.  and  who  after  his 

81 


Frank  Parmelee 
Gomfianti 


Established  1853 


Hailroad    Paddender  (and 
Baggage  Transfer 


Office  132  East  Adams  Street 
Telephone  Harrison  1914 

BAGGAGE  TRANSFERRED 

TO  AND  FROM  RAILROAD  DEPOTS, 

HOTELS,  AND  RESIDENCES 

PROMPT  SERVICE 

Theatrical  Transfers  a  Specialty 


death,  in  [848,  became  Mrs.  John  Drew,  the  greatest  Mrs.  Mala- 
prop  Chicago  ever  knew?  The  opening  address,  written  by 
(1.  W.  Phillimore,  a  member  of  the  company,  and  delivered  by 
Edwin  Harris,  was  in  three  parts—"  To  The  Audience,"  "  To 
The  Boxes, "and  "  To  The  Pit."  No  one  accused  Mr.  Phillimore 
of  writing  good  poetry,  but  every  one  admitted  that  his  heart 
was  in  the  right  place.  A  popular  member  of  this  company 
was  Mrs.  Rice,  who  was  born  Mary  Ann  Warren,  a  sister  of 
William  Warren  and  Mrs.  Dan  Marble.  She  made  her  debut  as 
Helen  in  "  The  Hunchback,"  July  26, 1S47.  She  retired  from  the 
stage  in  1S54.  and  died  at  Colorado  Beach,  California,  March  23, 
[893.  Mr.  Rice  was  a  man  whose  word  was  as  good  as  a  bond. 
t  )n  one  occasion  the  audience  was  offended  at  Barney  Williams, 
who  did  something  on  the  stage  offensive  to  the  Irish  people 
present.  They  refused  to  allow  Williams  to  proceed  With  his 
lines,  and  then  Mr.  Rice  appeared  upon  the  scene,  informed 
his  patrons  that  if  they  allowed  Mr.  Williams  to  finish  his  per- 
formance and  complete  his  engagement,  he  would  give  them 
his  word  of  honor  that  Mr.  Williams  would  never  again  be 
permitted  to  play  at  his  theatre.  The  riot  was  quelled  and 
Mr.  Williams  was  never  re-engaged.  Among  the  men  who 
came  here  to  attend  the  Harbor  and  River  Convention,  and 
who  patronized  the  playhouse,  were  Horace  Greeley,  who 
represented  the  Neiu  York  Tribune;  Thurlow  Weed,  who 
wrote  for  the  New  York  Evening  [ournal,  and  Abraham 
Lincoln,  the  last  named  being  then  thirty-eight  years  of  age 
and  in  Chicago  for  the  first  time.  One  of  the  great  attractions 
in  those  days  was  T.  D.  Rice,  of  "Jim  Crow"  fame,  who  had 
dropped  little  Joseph  Jefferson  out  of  a  bag  when  the  latter,  at 
the  age  of  four,  made  his  first  appearance  on  the  stage.  Rice 
made  his  first  appearance  here  on  July  12,  1847,  as  Ginger  Blue, 
the  Mummy,  in  "  Mummy."  The  next  night  Jerry  Merrifield, 
who  became  a  popular  comedian  here,  made  his  first  appear- 
ance as  Peter  Spyke  in  "  The  Loan  of  a  Lover."  At  this  time 
Mrs.  Hunt  was  featured  as  a  stock  star,  and  having  a  fondness 
for  male  roles  won  much  favor  in  them.  On  July  28,  1S47,  she 
appeared  as  Claude  Melnotte  to  the  Pauline  of  Mrs.  Rice.     The 

S3 


most  popular  actor  seen  here  in  those  days  was  James  E. 
Murdock,  who  trod  the  boards  of  a  Chicago  stage  for  the  first 
time  on  August  2,  1S47.  The  play  was  "  Hamlet."  Mrs,  Hunt 
was  the  Ophelia  ;  Mrs.  Rice,  the  Queen  ;  Mr.  Harris,  the  Ghost  ; 
and  Mr.  Mossop,  the  Laertes.  The  next  night  Mr.  Murdoch 
played  Romeo  to  Mrs.  Hunt's  Juliet.  Actors  were  versatile  in 
those  days.  On  September  11,  1S47.  Mr.  Ryer,  the  tailor,  still 
an  amateur,  appeared  as  Hamlet,  "by  the  advice  of  his 
friends."  The  enthusiasm  was  so  great  that  one  admirer  threw 
him  a  purse  of  $25.  The  stage  in  Chicago  has  undergone  many 
changes.  The  lamented  Julia  Dean,  gifted,  beautiful,  and 
probably  the  most  popular  actress  of  her  day,  made  her  debut 
at  Rice's  on  October  5,  1S47,  as  Julia  in  "The  Hunchback." 
••Her  smile  was  a  language  of  itself  ;  joy  and  anguish,  hope 
and  fear  ;  love  and  scorn  flitted  across  her  young  face  with  the 
grace  of  sunbeams  and  shadows." 

James  Hubert  McVicker  made  his  first  appearance  in 
Chicago.  Tuesday,  May  2,  1S4S.  Mr.  McVicker,  whose  name 
was  then  spelt  McVicar,  made  his  debut  as  Mr.  Smith  in  "  My 
Neighbor's  Wife."  The  relations  between  McVicker  and  Rice 
were  always  of  the  most  cordial  character.  During  the  first 
week  in  June  of  1848,  an  unusual  state  of  affairs  existed  in 
Chicago.  Five  places  of  amusement  were  open  at  one  time. 
Raymond  &  Waring's  Menagerie  was  the  place  to  see  the 
elephant  ;  Winter's  Diorama,  the  place  to  see  "Jerusalem  and 
the  Court  of  Babylon  "  ;  Rice's  Theatre,  the  place  to  see  acting  : 
Winchell's  entertainment,  the  place  to  hear  good  singing  ;  and 
Tom  Thumb  was  at  the  Court  House,  "the  place  to  be 
kissed",  for  a  girl  that  had  not  been  kissed  by  Tom  Thumb 
felt  like  a  spinster  who  had  never  had  an  offer  of  marriage. 
And  all  the  notice  that  Edwin  Forrest  received  from  the 
Evening  Journal,  after  he  had  made  his  debut  at  Rice's  on 
June  8,  184S,  was  the  following:  "A  crowded  audience  were 
delighted  with  Mr.  Forrest's  Othello  at  the  theatre  last 
evening.  Mr.  Fenno,  as  Iago.  was  most  superior,  and  Mrs. 
Hunt's  Desdemona,  charming.  To-night  Mr.  Forrest  appears 
again   in   the   character  of   Hamlet."     And    an    enterprising 

84 


citizen  who  had  felt  called  upon  to  ask   Mr.  Forrest  "how  he 
liked  Chicago",  received  this  answer  from  the  actor  who  had 
climbed  up  and  down  our  sidewalks,  "  How  do  I  like  Chic;  . 
Why  the  wln.k place  is  set  for  '  Mazeppa."1     And  so 

far  as  we  know,  the  first  actor  to  step  out  of  the  character  and 
make  a  speech  during  or  after  a  performance  in  Chicago  was 
Edwin  Forrest,  who  spoke  at  the  conclusion  of  his  first  engage- 
ment on   Friday  evening,  June  23.   [848,  after   playing    King 

Lear  for  the  first  time  here.      Then  came  "  the  noblest  Roman 
of  them  all/-     Junius  Brutus  Booth  made  his  first  appearance 
on    Friday,  September  22,  [848,  in  "Richard   III."     On   Sep- 
tember   1,  [848,   Chicago  had   grown    to    19-724  souls,  and    on 
November  25,    1848,  the  second   season  at  Rice's  closed.    Mrs. 
Mossop,  formerly  Mrs.  Hunt,  distinguishing  herself  by  playing 
Alfred   Evelyn  in  "Money,"  and   Lucretia  Borgia.     And   still 
the  city  was  without  good  sidewalks,  roadways,  or  gas.     July 
28,    [850,  Mr.    Rice  began   an  experiment  with  grand  opera. 
opening  with   "  La  Somnambula,"   the   east  including    Eliza 
Brienti.  Miss  Matthews.  Mr.  Manvers,  and  Mr.  Dubreill.     The 
theatre  was  destroyed  by  fire  July  y>.  [850.      Loss  84,000.      On 
February  3.  1  S 5 1 ,  Mr.  Rice  opened  his  second  theatre  on  the 
->ame  spot,  but  the  entrance  had  been  transferred  to  Dearborn 
Street.     The  new  building  was  of  brick  and  cost  Si  1,000.     Mr. 
Rice    made   a   notable    improvement    by   abolishing   the   pit, 
because   of   its   noisy   occupants,    and   building    a   gallery   at 
the  top  of  the  house,  almost  over  the  stage.     The  former  pit 
was  called  the  parquet  and  respectable  people  were  then  no 
longer  afraid  to  see  the  play.     The  opening  attraction  at  the 
new  house  was  a  triple  bill:     "  Love  in  Humble    Life," 
Captain    of  the  Watch,"   and    "The  Dumb  Belle."     Mr.  and 
Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert  were  members  of  the  company,  the   now 
revered  "  Dear  old  Mrs.  Gilbert."  being  then  a  popular  dancer. 
It  was  here  that  John  Dillon,  "  recently  graduated  from  a  New 
York  concert  saloon,"  made  his  first  local  appearance.    In  1  S61 
Rice's  Chicago  Theatre  was  converted  into  a  business  house. 
Meanwhile  another  theatre  was  opened.     This  was  North's 
Amphitheatre,  which  stood  on  the  south  side  of  Monroe  Street. 

85 


east  of  Wells  Street.  Its  manager,  Levi  J.  North,  offered  a 
unique  entertainment,  inasmuch  as  the  drama  was  preceded 
by  a  circus,  the  stage  being  built  on  wheels  and  run  over  the 
circus  ring.  It  was  afterward  known  as  the  National  Theatre 
and  existed  until  1864. 

Thursday  evening,  November  5,  1857.  McVicker's  Theatre 
was  opened.  The  stock  company  was  large  and  representative 
and  appeared  in  "The  Honeymoon"  and  "'The  Rough  Dia- 
mond." H.  A.  Perry,  who  appeared  as  the  Duke  Aranza,  was 
an  admired  actor  of  his  day.  Edwin  Booth's  first  appearance 
was  made  here  May  31,  1858,  appearing  in  "  A  New  Way  to 
Pay  Old  Debts,"  followed  by  "  Richelieu,"  John  Howard 
Payne's  "Brutus"  and  "Richard  III."  All  the  great  actors 
of  that  period  played  at  McVicker's,  Edward  A.  Sothern  mak- 
ing his  debut  in  1861,  James  H.  Hackett,  the  great  Falstaff  of 
that  day,  in  1865,  and  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Scott-Siddons  in  1869. 
The  theatre  was  remodeled  in  1864,  and  in  1868  Joseph  Jeffer- 
son produced  "  Rip  Van  Winkle"  for  the  first  time  here.  The 
theatre  was  rebuilt  in  1871,  at  a  cost  of  $90,000,  and  re-opened 
with  "  Extremes"  six  weeks  before  the  great  fire  of  October  9. 
1871,  when  it  was  burned  with  the  rest  of  Chicago.  Again 
the  theatre  was  rebuilt,  and  re-opened  August  15,  1872,  with 
Douglas  Jerrold's  "Time  Works  Wonders."  In  1S85  the  theatre 
was  again  remodeled.  On  August  26,  1S90,  during  a  run  of 
"  Shenandoah,"  it  was  again  destroyed  by  fire.  It  rose  from 
its  ashes  on  March  31,  1892,  Joseph  Jefferson,  William  J. 
Florence,  Mrs.  John  Drew,  Miss  Viola  Allen,  and  Frederick 
Paulding  appearing  in  "The  Rivals."  After  Mr.  McVicker 
died  on  March  7,  1896,  the  theatre  was  conducted  by  Mrs. 
McVicker,  who,  on  May  1,  1898,  leased  it  for  a  term  of  years 
to  Jacob  Litt,  who,  in  1902,  purchased  the  entire  property  from 
Mrs.  McVicker.  It  was  something  of  a  coincidence  that  Mrs. 
McVicker  leased  the  theatre  to  Mr.  Litt  just  fifty  years  minus 
a  day  after  the  date  of  her  husband's  professional  debut  in 
Chicago.  The  story  of  McVicker's  Theatre  would  fill  many  a 
volume.  All  the  great  actors  of  the  day  appeared  here  for 
a  period  of  forty  years,  most  of  the  great  names  of  the  dramatic 

8G 


and  musical  professions  having  brightened  the  history  of  this 
house.  Not  only  the  famous  stars,  but  many  of  the  best  known 
stoek  actors  won  favor  here,  for  during  the  greater  portion  of 
Mr.  McVicker's  career  the  great  stars  were  supported  by  the 
stoek  company  of  the  house.  And  on  many  occasions  the  in- 
imitable Mr.  McYieker  would  himself  appear  either  at  the  head 
of  his  own  company  or  in  the  support  of  eminent  stars  like- 
Charlotte  Cushman  or  Edwin  Booth.  His  most  memorable  per- 
formances were  those  oi  Mr.  Simpson  to  the  Mrs.  Simpson  of 
Charlotte  Cushman  in  "Simpson  &  Co.."  and  of  the  First 
Grave  Digger  in  "  Hamlet,"  Dogberry  in  "  Much  Ado  About 
Nothing,"  Bottom  in  "  Midsummer's  Night,"  and  Launcelot 
Gobbo  in  "The  Merchant  of  Venice,"  when  Edwin  Booth  was 
the  star.  These  five  roles  were  distinctively  his  own.  Mr. 
McVicker  was  a  comedian  and  a  manager  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  word,  and  as  a  citizen  of  Chicago  he  was  so  popular 
and  so  public-spirited  that  his  memory  will  never  be  dimmed 

by  time. 

Still  another  famous  playhouse  was  Colonel  Wood's  Museum 
at  111-117  Randolph  Street,  which  was  opened  with  a  number  of 
curiosities  August  17,  1863,  and  in  November,  1863,  converted 
into  a  playhouse,  when  "The  Bohemian  Girl"  was  given  by 
the  Holman  Opera  Company.  "  The  Lady  of  Lyons "  was 
the  first  play  given,  and  for  some  time  eminent  players  of 
this  day,  such  as  Frank  E.  Aiken,  McKee  Rankin.  William 
J.  LeMoyne,  and  Owen  Fawcett,  were  admired  members  of 
the  stock  company,  which  was  so  popular  that  before  the  fire, 
when  long  runs  were  unknown,  "  The  Ticket  of  Leave  Man  " 
was  played  consecutively  for  six  weeks. 

And  all  Chicago  remembers  Crosby's  Opera  House,  which 
stood  on  the  north  side  of  Washington  Street,  between  Dear- 
born and  State  Streets,  and  opened  with  "II  Trovatore," 
April  26,  1865,  at  a  cost  of  $500,000,  by  J.  Grau's  Italian 
Opera  Company.  Miss  Clara  Louise  Kellogg,  now  Mrs.  Carl 
Strakosch,  was  a  member  of  the  company.  Here  the  great 
spectacular  plays  of  the  day,  "The  Black  Crook,"  "The  White 
Fawn,"  and  "  The  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold"  Avere  given,  as 


87 


well  as  all  the  great  operas  and  German  dramas,  for  here 
Fanny  Janauschek  and  Marie  Seebach  played  the  tragedies  of 
Schiller  and  Goethe.  And  on  this  stage  the  citizens  of  Chicago 
presented  a  silver  wreath  to  Madame  Janauschek,  Dr.  Ernst 
Schmidt  being  the  spokesman  of  the  occasion.  And  now  the 
great  tragedian  is  practically  dying  in  want.  Like  the  other 
playhouses,  Crosby's  Opera  House,  which  was  to  be  re-dedi- 
cated by  the  Theodore  Thomas  Orchestra,  Marie  Krebs, 
pianist,  and  Bernhard  Listemann,  violinist,  on  Monday.  Octo- 
ber 9,  1871,  was  burned  to  the  ground  that  morning,  the 
orchestra  reaching  Twenty-second  Street  on  its  way  from  the 
East.  At  the  time  it  was  said  that  Theodore  Thomas  differed 
from  Nero  inasmuch  as  he  roamed  away  while  his  fiddles  were 
burning. 

No  less  than  three  theatres  were  named  after  Frank  E. 
Aiken,  Chicago's  popular  leading  man  of  that  day.  For  a 
time  Wood's  Museum  was  known  as  Aiken's  Theatre,  after 
Col.  J.  H.  Wood  retired.  Another  Aiken's  Theatre  was  built 
on  the  east  side  of  Dearborn  Street,  one  block  south  of  the 
spot  where  Rice's  Chicago  Theatre  had  stood.  It  was  opened 
January,  1S69,  by  a  stock  company  playing  "'Cyril's  Success." 
In  August,  1S69,  it  was  transformed  into  the  Dearborn  Theatre 
and  occupied  by  Emerson.  Allen  &  Manning's  Minstrels  and 
other  attractions,  such  as  Charles  Wyndham  in  the  Robertson 
comedies.  Still  another  Aiken's  Theatre  was  erected  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  Wabash  Avenue  and  Congress  Street,  and 
opened  October  7,  1S72,  by  the  Theodore  Thomas  Orchestra. 
Here  Anton  Rubinstein  and  Wienawski  gave  their  memorable 
concerts.  Here  Lawrence  Barrett  produced  "  Julius  Csesar," 
and  while  playing  Cassius  stepped  out  of  the  role  to  speak  Marc 
Antony's  oration,  Frank  Lawler  being  the  Marc  Antony.  The 
theatre  was  burned  in  the  second  Chicago  fire  of  July  14.  1S74. 
Meanwhile  other  places  of  amusement  were  opened.  They 
included  Bryan  Hall,  at  S7  and  89  Clark  Street,  built  in  i860 
for  concerts;  the  first  Academy  of  Music,  at  124  Washington 
Street,  opened  December  1,  1S63,  and  devoted  to  Arling- 
ton, Kelly,  Leon  &  Donnikers  Minstrels,  and  later  to  English 

88 


THE 

A.  H.  Andrews  Co. 

174-176  Wabash  Avenue 
CHICAGO,        ILL. 

Seated    tKis    ("IROQUOIS")    Theatre 


Hardest  /Ifcanufacturers  of: 

($prra  m\b  utyratrr  &rattttg,  QDffur  m\h  iBank  IFuntiturr 

(Eljurrij  ann  ^rl)inil  Starmturr,  i>trrl  Wire  (Eliaira 

utablrs  auo  ^tmils 


A    FEW  OF  THE   LEADING   THEATRES    FURNISHED   BY   US: 

IROQUOIS,     Chicago:      MCVlCKERS',     Chicago;      AUDITORIUM,     Chicago 
POWERS',   Chicago;    GARRICK,    Chicago;     METROPOLITAN,    New    York 

Chicago    Opera     House,    Chicago.    St.    Charles,    new    Orleans 

DALY'S,       New       York;       ACADEMY,       New       York;         LYCEUM,        Memphis 

Toronto,    Toronto.    Prospect,    Cleveland;    Academy,     buffalo 


opera  by  the  late  Sher  Campbell  and  the  present  William 
Castle;  the  first  Olympic  Theatre,  at  the  northwest  corner  o£ 
Clark  and  Monroe  Streets,  opened  July  [5,  [868,  by  Arlington's 

Minstrels,  and  the  ( ilobe  Theatre  on  Desplaines  Street,  between 
.Madison  and  Washington  Streets,  opened   November  21,  1 
by  a  stock  company  playing  "  The  Rivals."     The  last  named 
was  the  only  theatre  that  escaped  the  lire. 

After  the  great  lire  the  walls  of  the  old  Postonrce  ai  Dear- 
born and  Monroe  Streets  were  utilized  as  the  framework  of  a 
theatre  that  was  opened  January  11,  1^7?.  with  a  burlesque 
under  Leonard  (trover's  management.  J.  II.  Haverly  recon- 
structed it  in  [878,  and  called  it  Haverly 's  Theatre,  opening  it 
with  the  Colville  Folly  Company  in  "  The  Babes  in  the  Woods. 
It  was  used  as  a  theatre  until  1SS0.  when  it  was  demolished. 
It  was  here,  on  April  1.  1^75,  that  Will  J.  Davis,  who  had  been 
associated  with  W.  W.  Cole  of  Grover  &  Cole,  first  came  into 
view  professionally,  as  J.  II.  Haverly's  trusted  lieutenant,  Mr. 
1  )avis  growing  to  be  the  dean  among  local  managers.  During 
is;;  and  1S7S,  Mr.  Davis  was  not  associated  with  this  house, 
but  he  returned  in  1S79,  and  every  faithful  Chicagoah  is  grate- 
ful to  him  for  his  share  of  the  prosperity  of  this  house  that 
first  introduced  us  to  such  distinct  and  lasting  successes  as  the 
Chicago  Church  Choir  Company,  Her  Majesty's  Italian  Opera 
Company,  the  Carleton  Opera  Company,  and  the  Chicago 
Ideals. 

A  great  and  good  man  to  whom  Chicago  is  indebted  for 
much  was  the  late  Richard  M.  Hooley,  familiarly  and  rever- 
ently called  "  Uncle  Dick  Hooley."  Mr.  Hooley  came  here 
from  Brooklyn  in  1S70,  and  transformed  Bryan  Hall  into  a 
handsome  theatre  called  Hooley \s  Opera  House.  It  was  opened 
January  2,  [871,  by  Hooley 's  Minstrels,  and  when  it  was 
destroyed  in  the  great  tire  Mrs.  F.  W.  Lander  ( Jean  Daven- 
port )  was  to  appear  in  an  English  version  of  Oiacometti's 
"  Elizabeth."  For  a  while  Mr.  Hooley  had  a  stock  company 
in  conjunction  with  Frank  F.  Aiken,  with  Mr.  Aiken  as  lead- 
ing man.  the  first  play  being  "  The  Two  Thorns.*'  After  the 
fire  the  theatre  was  rebuilt,  and  after  being  called  the  Coliseum 

8!> 


and  Hamlin's  Theatre,  was  remodeled  in  1880,  and  called  the 
Grand  Opera  House,  and  leased  to  John  A.  Hamlin.  It 
was  opened  September,  1S80,  by  Hoey  &  Hardy  in  "A 
Child  of  the  State."  Mr.  Will  J.  Davis  was  acting  manager 
of  the  Grand  Opera  House  at  this  time  and  remained  there 
two  years,  giving  the  house  its  legitimate  start.  After  the 
great  fire  Mr.  Hooley  built  Hooley's  Theatre  on  Randolph 
Street,  east  of  La  Salle,  and  opened  it  October  17,  1872, 
with  the  Abbott- Kiralfy  Company.  In  1876  and  1877  it  was 
known  as  Haverly's,  and  then  restored  to  Mr.  Hooley  and 
his  partner,  Simon  Quinlan.  Later  Mr.  Hoolev  became  its 
exclusive  manager  and  remained  so  until  his  death  in  Sep- 
tember, 1893.  Here  for  some  years  Mr.  Hooley  had  an  excep- 
tional stock  company  that  included  at  different  times  such  well- 
known  players  as  James  O'Neill,  William  H.  Crane,  Harry 
Murdock,  John  Webster,  John  Dillon,  George  R^er,  George 
Giddens,  Nate  Salsbury,  Louise  Hawthorne,  Minnie  Doyle, 
Nellie  McHenry,  Sidney  Cowell,  Susan  Denin,  and  last,  but  not 
least,  the  famous  Mrs.  Clara  Fisher  Maeder.  May  1,  1898,  the 
theatre  passed  from  the  control  of  the  Hooley  estate  into  the 
hands  of  Harry  J.  Powers,  who  had  been  associated  with  the 
house  since  October  15,  1877,  when  the  attraction  was  Jarrett  & 
Palmer's  "  Sardanapalus,"  and  who  gave  it  the  name  of  Powers' 
Theatre,  although  the  favorite  name  of  "  The  Parlor  Home  of 
Comedy"  still  clings  to  it.  After  a  complete  reconstruction 
based  on  designs  by  Benjamin  H.  Marshall,  who  afterward 
became  the  architect  of  the  Illinois  and  Iroquois  theatres,  it  was 
opened  as  Powers'  Theatre,  August  22, 1898,  with  Effie  Shannon 
and  Herbert  Kelcey  in  Clyde  Fitch's,  "  The  Moth  and  the 
Flame."  For  thirty-one  years  this  playhouse  has  made  theatri- 
cal history.  Most  of  the  eminent  players  and  singers  of  the 
generation  have  appeared  upon  its  boards,  and  here  many  of 
our  younger  actors  have  made  their  local  debuts  as  stars.  Here , 
since  Mr.  Powers  first  became  connected  with  the  house,  we 
_have  seen  Lawrence  Barrett,  Clara  Morris,  Robson  and  Crane, 
Fanny  Janauschek,  Fanny  Davenport,  Helena  Modjeska. 
E.  A .  Sothern ,  John T .  Raymond ,  John McCullough ,  Nat  C .  Good- 


win,  Emma  Abbott,  Clara  Louise  Kellogg,  George  S.  Knight, 
Lotta,  E.  II.  Sothern,  Mrs.  Scott-Siddons,  Maggie  Mitchell, 
Genevieve  Ward,  Roland  Reed,  Minnie  Maddern,  Annie  Pixley, 
Henry  E.  Dixey,  Rosina  Yokes,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kendall,  M 
garet  Mather,  E.  S.  Willard,  Eleonora  Duse,  Ada  Rehan,  Olga 
Nethersole,  William  Gillette,  John  Hare,  John  Drew,  Sol  Smith 
Russell,  Julia  Arthur,  Julia  Marlowe,  Maude  Adams,  Sir  Henry 
Irving,  Ellen  Terry,  and  a  host  of  others,  many  of  whom 
have  passed  into  the  Great  Hereafter.  No  wonder  then  that 
to  old  and  young  this  playhouse,  which  has  ever  maintained 
the  highest  standard,  is  indeed  a  "Home." 

John  B.  Carson  built  a  theatre  on  Monroe  Street,  between 
Dearborn  and  Clark,  and  called  it  Haverly's.  It  was  opened 
Monday,  September  12,  1881,  by  Robson  and  Crane  with 
"Twelfth  Night."  It  was  managed  by  J.  H.  Haverly  and 
afterward  by  C.  H.  McConnell,  during  whose  regime  Mr. 
Will  J.  Davis  was  his  acting  manager.  On  the  last  night  of  the 
second  engagement  of  Henry  Irving  and  Ellen  Terry,  Satur- 
day, January  31,  1885,  Ellen  Terry  christened  the  house  the 
Columbia  Theatre.  In  1889  Mr.  Carson  offered  his  house  out 
of  hand  to  Mr.  Will  J.  Davis,  who  associated  himself  with  Mr. 
Al  Hay  man,  then  of  San  Francisco  in  a  ten  year  lease  of  the 
theatre,  and  on  Friday  afternoon,  March  30, 1900,  during  an  en- 
gagement of  the  Rogers  Brothers,  it  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

Other  theatres  built  from  time  to  time  were : 

Myers'  Opera  House,  on  Monroe  Street,  between  State  and 
Dearborn  Streets:  Samuel  Myers,  manager  ;  opened  Septem- 
ber 23,  1872. 

The  Standard,  afterward  the  Bijou,  at  the  corner  of  Jackson 
and  Halsted  Streets  ;  built  by  a  Mr.  Townsend  of  this  city, 
opened  by  Fay  Templeton  in " Girofie-Girofia"  December  3 1 , 1 8 83 . 

Chicago  Opera  House,  at  the  corner  of  Washington  and 
Clark  Streets ;  opened  by  John  W.  Norton  &  Co. ,  with  David 
Henderson  as  manager,  August  18,  1885,  with  Thomas  W. 
Keene  in  "  Richard  III." 

The  new  Chicago  Theatre,  now  the  Olympic  Theatre, 
on    Clark   Street,  between  Lake   and  Randolph;    opened  by 


«i 


James  H.  McVicker  in  August,  1S75,  with  "Apple  Blossoms.' 
Called  the  Olympic,  in  May,  1SS5. 

Hopkins'  Theatre,  on  State  Street  near  Harrison,  was  opened 
by  Robert  Graham  in  "  Wanted  a  Partner,"  October  1,  1SS4. 

The  Windsor  Theatre,  later  the  Lincoln,  on  North  Clark 
Street,  near  Division,  was  opened  September  16,  1SS6. 

The  Haymarket  Theatre  on  West  Madison  Street,  near 
Halsted,  was  dedicated  by  Thomas  Keene  in  "  Richard  III" 
December  24,  1SS7,  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Will  J. 
Davis.  Thomas  W.  Keene  had  the  distinction  of  opening  two 
Chicago  playhouses  with  the  same  play. 

Baker's  Theatre,  afterward  Havlin's,  and  now  the  Colum- 
bus, was  opened  with  "  The  Pearl  of  Pekin "  November  6, 
1888,  and  leased  to  J.  H.  Havlin  May  27,  1SS9. 

The  Clark  Street  Theatre,  on  North  Clark  and  Michigan 
Streets  ;  opened  by  H.  R.  Jacobs,  with  "  Said  Pasha,"  October 
27,  1889. 

The  Alhambra,  on  State  and  Nineteenth  Streets,  was  opened 
by  the  Emma  Juch  Grand  English  Opera  Company  in  "  Faust." 
September  1,  1S90. 

The  Schiller  Theatre,  later  the  Dearborn  and  now  the 
Garrick,  was  opened  in  September,  1S92,  with  four  weeks  of 
German  comedy,  and  dedicated  to  the  English  drama  with 
"  Gloriana,"  October  17,  1892. 

The  Great  Northern  Theatre,  A.  M.  Palmer,  manager,  was 
opened  by  Henry  Miller  in  "  Heartsease,"  November  9,  1S96. 

The  Auditorium  was  dedicated  by  President  Harrison  and 
Adelina  Patti,  Monday,  December  9,  1SS9.  Gounod's  "Romeo 
and  Juliet  "  was  given  the  next  night  with  Mine.  Patti  as  Juliet. 

The  Studebaker,  on  Michigan  Boulevard,  between  Van  Buren 
and  Congress  Streets,  was  opened  with  a  concert  September  29, 
1S9S,  and  was  first  used  as  an  opera  house  by  the  Castle  Square 
Company  in  "  Faust,"  Monday,  April  3,  1S99. 

The  opening  of  the  Illinois  Theatre,  on  Jackson  Boulevard. 
Monday  evening,  October  15,  1900,  with  Julia  Marlowe  in  Clyde 
Fitch's  "Barbara  Frietchie  "  marked  a  new  era,  inasmuch  as 
it  was  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  Chicago  that  a  playhouse 

1)3 


was  constructed   and   employed   solely  for  theatrical   purpo 
There  are  several  older  houses  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and, 
Savannah,  Ga.,  that  are  similarly  built  and  used,  but  they  arc 
the    important   exceptions  to  an    almost   unanimous  rule.      [1 
was  built  by  the  Dayman  &  Davis  Co..  with  Mr.  Will  J.  Davis 
as  manager.       While  it  was  being  built  all  sorts  of  names  wen 
suggested,  Air.  Davis  making  a  plea  for  a  name  that  vrouh 
symbolical    of   the   city's   history.     Finally   Charles    Frohman 
said  :   "Why  not  call  it  the  Illinois/"     And   Illinois  it  became, 
and  worthily  so,  as  something  of  a  rebuke  to  the  naming  ol 
theatres  either  after  individuals  or  in  imitation  of  some  English 
name  to  which  its  birth  and  career  are  wholly  foreign.     And  so 
to-day,  the  Illinois  Theatre,  after  a  career  of  a  little  over  three 
years,  typifies  all  that  is  most  beautiful  and  good  in  the  mod< 
theatre.     Like  the  first  playhouse  Chicago  ever  had,  its  name- 
is  I  ndian.    It  is  also  noteworthy  that  the  architect  of  the  Illinois 
is  probably  the  youngest  man  who  ever  designed  a  theatre,  for 
Benjamin  M.  Marshall  was  barely  twenty-six  years  of  age  when 
the  Illinois  became  a  reality. 

When  the  new  playhouse  that  is  now  being  dedicated  w-as 
first  planned,  Mr.  Will  J.  Davis  was  ready  with  a  name  for  it, 
a  name  that  would  be  a  tribute  to  the  first  inhabitants  of  this 
continent.  Mr.  Davis'  devotion  to  the  history  of  the  Indians 
has  been  constant,  and  he  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  fact 
that  in  early  days  they  were  led  by  the  Iroquois,  composed  of 
the  Five  Nations,  afterward  the  Six  Nations,  for  the  Senecas, 
Mohawks,  Onondagas,  Oneidas,  and  Cayugas  were,  in  lyt;. 
joined  by  the  Tuscaroras.  So  this  theatre,  designed  to  be  i 
leader,  was  named  the  Iroquois.  And  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  it  was  on  the  anniversary  of  the  nation's  birth  that  Mr. 
Marshall  prepared  the  first  designs  for  the  new  house,  namely, 
on  July  4,  1902.  Our  first  inhabitants  can  not  be  forgotten, 
when,  in  our  search  for  wholesome  amusement  and  instruc- 
tion, we  remember  that  our  first  and  latest  playhouses  were 
called  respectively  Sauganash  and  Iroquois. 


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Oral  t 


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